{"product_id":"midnight-in-cairo-the-divas-of-egypts-roaring-20s","title":"Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt's Roaring '20s","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the world's most multicultural cities, twentieth-century Cairo was a magnet for the ambitious and talented. During the 1920s and '30s, a vibrant music, theater, film, and cabaret scene flourished, defining what it meant to be a \"modern\" Egyptian. Women came to dominate the Egyptian entertainment industry--as stars of the stage and screen but also as impresarias, entrepreneurs, owners, and promoters of a new and strikingly modern entertainment industry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRaphael Cormack unveils the rich histories of independent, enterprising women like vaudeville star Rose al-Youssef (who launched one of Cairo's most important newspapers); nightclub singer Mounira al-Mahdiyya (the first woman to lead an Egyptian theater company) and her great rival, Oum Kalthoum (still venerated for her soulful lyrics); and other fabulous female stars of the interwar period, a time marked by excess and unheard-of freedom of expression. Buffeted by crosswinds of colonialism and nationalism, conservatism and liberalism, \"religious\" and \"secular\" values, patriarchy and feminism, this new generation of celebrities offered a new vision for women in Egypt and throughout the Middle East.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Landmark Booksellers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40631193632941,"sku":"9780393541137","price":28.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0586\/1385\/8477\/products\/img_75bf05ac-1a93-4150-82a3-3b2503ab8eae.jpg?v=1631186244","url":"https:\/\/landmark-booksellers.myshopify.com\/products\/midnight-in-cairo-the-divas-of-egypts-roaring-20s","provider":"Landmark Booksellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}