{"product_id":"unknown-past-hanan-hammad-9781503629776","title":"Unknown Past: Layla Murad, the Jewish-Muslim Star of Egypt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA biography of the \"Cinderella\" of Egyptian cinema--the veneration and rumors that surrounded an unparalleled career, and the gendered questions that unsettled Egyptian society.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLayla Murad (1918-1995) was once the highest-paid star in Egypt, and her movies were among the top-grossing in the box office. She starred in 28 films, nearly all now classics in Arab musical cinema. In 1955 she was forced to stop acting--and struggled for decades for a comeback. Today, even decades after her death, public interest in her life continues, and new generations of Egyptians still love her work. \u003ci\u003eUnknown Past\u003c\/i\u003e recounts Murad's extraordinary life--and the rapid political and sociocultural changes she witnessed.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHanan Hammad writes a story centered on Layla Murad's persona and legacy, and broadly framed around a gendered history of twentieth-century Egypt. Murad was a Jew who converted to Islam in the shadow of the first Arab-Israeli war. Her career blossomed under the Egyptian monarchy and later gave a singing voice to the Free Officers and the 1952 Revolution. The definitive end of her cinematic career came under Nasser on the eve of the 1956 Suez War. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEgyptians have long told their national story through interpretations of Murad's life, intertwining the individual and Egyptian state and society to better understand Egyptian identity. As \u003ci\u003eUnknown Past\u003c\/i\u003e recounts, there's no life better than Murad's to reflect the tumultuous changes experienced over the dramatic decades of the mid-twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Hanan Hammad\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1503629775\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781503629776\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Stanford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/10\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 328\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2023","brand":"Hanan Hammad","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43944183759103,"sku":"9781503629776","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_a85d3c0f-f52d-4ab8-92ee-7ae58b90c59e.jpg?v=1681502276","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/unknown-past-hanan-hammad-9781503629776","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}