or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
30 used & new from £3.40
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood (Paperback)

by Fatima Mernissi (Author) "I WAS BORN in a harem in 1940 in Fez, a ninth-century Moroccan city some five thousand kilometers west of Mecca, and one thousand kilometers..." (more)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
Price: £8.24 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £4.75 (37%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Friday, November 13? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
19 new from £5.53 11 used from £3.40
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback 15 used & new from £1.66

Frequently Bought Together

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood + Sultana's Dream: and Selections from the Secluded Ones (Feminist Press Sourcebook) + Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran: A Novel of Modern Iraq
Price For All Three: £25.97

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Sultana's Dream: and Selections from the Secluded Ones (Feminist Press Sourcebook)

Sultana's Dream: and Selections from the Secluded Ones (Feminist Press Sourcebook)

by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain
£10.79
The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam

The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam

by Fatima Mernissi
4.2 out of 5 stars (5)  £9.19
In Arabian Nights

In Arabian Nights

by Tahir Shah
5.0 out of 5 stars (8)  £6.83
Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran: A Novel of Modern Iraq

Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran: A Novel of Modern Iraq

by Persis Karim
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £6.94
The Sand Child

The Sand Child

by Tahar Ben Jelloun
3.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £12.15
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Perseus Books (14 Aug 1995)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0201489376
  • ISBN-13: 978-0201489378
  • Product Dimensions: 23.3 x 14 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 173,212 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #6 in  Books > History > Countries & Regions > Africa > Northern > Morocco
    #58 in  Books > Biography > Religious > Islam

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

  • See Complete Table of Contents

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
   Trespass Clothing opens new browser window
www.very.co.uk  -  Available Now at Very. New Range Just In! Free Returns. 
   Women's Harem Pants opens new browser window
www.laredoute.co.uk/trousers  -  Stylish range of women's Harem Pants in the La Redoute collection 
  
 

Product Description

Product Description

I was born in a harem in 1940 in Fez, Morocco...So begins Fatima Mernissi in this exotic and rich narrative of a childhood behind the iron gates of a domestic harem. In Dreams of Trespass , Mernissi weaves her own memories with the dreams and memories of the women who surrounded her in the courtyard of her youthwomen who, deprived of access to the world outside, recreated it from sheer imagination. Dreams of Trespass is the provocative story of a girl confronting the mysteries of time and place, gender and sex in the recent Muslim world.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
I WAS BORN in a harem in 1940 in Fez, a ninth-century Moroccan city some five thousand kilometers west of Mecca, and one thousand kilometers south of Madrid, one dangerous capitals of the Christians. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
morocco
women
memoir
islam
harem
feminism
urban lit
storytelling
global feminism
for college
fictionalized memoir

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood
85% buy the item featured on this page:
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood 4.6 out of 5 stars (5)
£8.24
In Arabian Nights
4% buy
In Arabian Nights 5.0 out of 5 stars (8)
£6.83
A Handful of Honey: Away to the Palm Groves of Morocco and Algeria
4% buy
A Handful of Honey: Away to the Palm Groves of Morocco and Algeria 3.8 out of 5 stars (16)
£5.97
The Voices of Marrakesh
4% buy
The Voices of Marrakesh 4.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.54
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book with a mediocre title, 19 Jan 1998
By A Customer
I would have given this book a 10, but subtracted a point because of the title. I agree with Kirkus' review (below) which suggests a more appropriate title, _The Making of a Muslim Feminist_. The present subtitle, _Tales of a Harem Girlhood_, is not only sensational and provocative, but detracts from the real subject matter of the book. Yes, the book does contain tales of a harem girlhood in a sense, but more importantly it provides a rich, eloquently told description of a culture in which women were (and still are) held back from achieving their potential because of prejudice, ignorance, and blind obedience to a dysfunctional cultural tradition. I find this book to be an enlightening account of the life of an intelligent, courageous woman for whom I have the utmost respect and admiration. After first reading _The Veil and the Male Elite_, what Mernissi has to say in _Dreams of Trespass_ provides insight into some of the events and perceptions of her early life that helped shape who she is today. I highly recommend this book, but would urge readers to first read some of her non-autobiographical works (then you can more fully appreciate her autobiography).
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Ignore the Title; this book is a Must Read, 5 Nov 1998
By A Customer
Insightful. Clever & Amusing. Beautifully written. An interesting & worthwhile read. I could not put down this book & I could not stop laughing. Highly recommended.

I look forward to exploring other works by Mernissi.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful book., 12 Feb 1997
By A Customer
The author, Fatima Mernissa, was a professor of Sociology at Muhammad V University, Rabat, Morocco. The book tells of her life growing up in her father's home. It describes the richness of her life, living among an extended family of cousins, aunts and sisters. It tells of nights of communal story telling and play acting, of special outings like going to the public baths and the movies and life in the country side. The men in the book have no names but the women are richly described with their many interests and backgrounds. What makes this book interesting and different is that it is told from the point of view of a 10 year old girl rather than an adult looking back on her childhood. Therefore the book is full of wonder as she is seeking to describe life, trying to figure out what life is about and seeking to define the concept of harem. She discovers that a harem in the city means being locked inside a very large house with a guard on the door and having to seek permission of the men of the house before a woman is permitted to leave, however in the countryside, harem means something much different. The book gives one another picture of women in the Muslim world.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting, relaxing
Nice book - describing her childhood. All readers should bear in their minds, though, that Morocco is not like that anymore. This is a story from her past.
Published on 1 Jun 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars A great memoir of a fascinating culture
This is a profound and philosophical memoir of a period of time when nationalism, women's issues and changing male-female relationships had a formative impact on this woman's... Read more
Published on 22 Nov 1998

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject























i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.