

An edition of Asmahan's Secrets (2000)
woman, war, and song
By Sherifa Zuhur
Publish Date
2001
Publisher
Saqi
Language
eng
Pages
247
Description:
"The great Arab singer Asmahan was the toast of Cairo song and cinema in the 1930s, as World War II approached. A Druze princess actually named Amal al-Atrash, she came from an important clan in the mountains of Syria, but broke free from her traditional family background, left her husband, and became a public performer, a role frowned upon for women of the time. She was also rumored to be an agent for the allied Forces during World War II. Through the story of Asmahan and her musical career, the reader glimpses not only aspects of the cultural and political history of Egypt and Syria between the two world wars, but also the change in attitude in the Arab world toward women as public performers on stage."--BOOK JACKET.
subjects: Biography, Women singers, Popular music, Music, Singers, Arabs, History, Druzes, Egypt, biography, World war, 1939-1945, biography, Singers, biography
People: Asmahān (1912-1944)
Places: Egypt, Syria, 1882-1936 British occupation