Abdel Rahman al-Sharqawi (1920–1987) was born into a peasant family in the Egyptian province of Menoufia. He became widely known after the publication of his novel Egyptian Earth in 1954. His work is celebrated for its realism and commitment to social issues of the day. Al-Sharqawi founded the progressive journal Al-Katib and received the State Appreciation Award in Literature by the Egyptian government. Desmond Stirling Stewart was a British writer and journalist who worked for many years in Baghdad, Beirut, and Cairo. He wrote a number of books about Egyptian and Arabic culture and history, as well as several novels.

‘A remarkable and often funny book . . . A classic of modern Egyptian literature.’