The book is a literary, social and political portrait of Alexandria during the first half of the twentieth century when it was one of the liveliest and most prosperous ports on the Mediterranean. Drawing on diaries, letters and interviews, the now vanished cosmopolitan European city is recalled. Particular attention paid to the communities which most gave Alexandria its flavour, the Greek, the Italian and the Jewish. No other such account of Alexandria exists, which itself makes it of interest; while as background it provides an invaluable context for understanding Constantine Cavafy, E. M. Forster and Lawrence Durrell, who certainly in the case of the last two are presented here in greater and more authoritative detail than in the standard biographies. Forster came to Alexandria as a Red Cross volunteer during the First World War and soon came to know Cavafy, the Greek poet who was born and later died in the city. Lawrence Durrell was posted to Alexandria as British Information Officer during the Second World War. Refounded on the African littoral and on the verge of an alien culture, yet rich in historical associations central to Western civilisation, Alexandria epitomised for Cavafy, Forster and Durrell the vulnerability of their worlds. The city haunted each of them, that cosmopolitan Alexandria whose roots were the fragile memory-traces of its past, and it became a model for each of them, a microcosm and a mirror.
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'...a fine and deft interweaving of the personal and political' -- The Financial Times
'Ending this haunting book, some readers may want to re-read it at once' -- The Guardian
'Haag's Alexandria goes further than any other book I know to animate the world these people lived and loved' -- The Sunday Times
'This is full of intrigue and incident, and sparkles with countless delightful details' -- Scotland on Sunday
'[Haag] proves himself to be highly knowledgeable and his writing has an exhilarating vigour and edge.' -- The Literary Review, August 2004
'Ending this haunting book, some readers may want to re-read it at once' -- The Guardian
'Haag's Alexandria goes further than any other book I know to animate the world these people lived and loved' -- The Sunday Times
'This is full of intrigue and incident, and sparkles with countless delightful details' -- Scotland on Sunday
'[Haag] proves himself to be highly knowledgeable and his writing has an exhilarating vigour and edge.' -- The Literary Review, August 2004
About the Author
Michael Haag is a freelance writer who has published in the areas of history, biography and travel. He is the author/photographer of Alexandria (The American University in Cairo Press), and he provided the afterword and notes to the first British edition of E. M. Forster's Alexandria: A History and a Guide.
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41 of 42 people found the following review helpful
By Robert Lane
Format:Hardcover
Michael Haag has written a dazzling portrait of a city -- rich, evocative, full of layers and meanings -- a pure joy to read and savour. It is about Alexandria, but it is also about much more -- it is a book about all cities and how they shape us and shape our thoughts, our culture and our dreams. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very good if you know Alexandria and are interested in its history and people. Maybe not much of a read for someone who does not know the city or the country.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The perfect Christmas present for my mother who grew up in Cairo and holidayed in Alexandria in the 1940s. Great!
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