Zainab

Zainab, a name which aptly reflects the beauty of this tale's protagonist is also the title of the first modern Egyptian novel written in native vernacular. Crafted in 1910 by a privileged member of society and a student at the time living in Paris, Mohamed Hassein Heikal later rose through the ranks of Egyptian politics and media. Heikal successfully humanises and contextualises Egypt's societal issues without too reproachful a voice. As Heikal wrote in his room in Paris he was undoubtedly influenced by his nostalgia and depicts Egyptian scenes as only an Egyptian could.