Memoirs of an Early Arab Feminist

These memoirs are a fascinating record of experiences witnessed by a pioneer feminist in Beirut whose name is rightly synonymous with the feminist, social and literary renaissance of the Arab East. ... From now on [neither] the history of Beirut in the modern period nor the history of the modern feminist movement in the Arab world [can] be written without reference to these very memoirs. -- Kamal Salibi, prominent Lebanese historian and former Professor of History at the American University of Beirut Reading the memoir of Anbara Salam Khalidi is an inspiring and disturbing experience: here is a truly exceptional woman, who was moved throughout her life by those qualqities that remain the highest ethical ideals: courage, love, generosity, independence of spirit--and modesty. But as well as a poignant and forthright picture of an individual woman's life, the book was immediately recognised as a major work of historical testimony when it appeared in 1978. Anbara stands witness to a momentous period [of history]; throughout, she was in the vanguard of reform, present and active at key turning points of the turbulent twentieth century. ... These memoirs have rightly become a classic with the Arabic public, and now, in her son Tarif Khalidi's translation, can at last reach Anglophone readers. The book offers us unparalleled insight into a rare human being, whose fascinating account of her life will make every reader wish to have known her; her story sharpens the sense that the freedoms that some of us are fortunate to enjoy were hard-won by forebears like Anbara. -- Marina Warner, from the foreword