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An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (At Last--The Definitive Edition of the Classic)

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A landmark work of cultural anthropology, Lane's study of Egyptian society has never been out of print since it was first issued in 1836. The definitive fifth edition of 1860, the basis of this re-issue, was the result of a quarter-century of Lane's corrections, reconsid-erations and additions and includes 131 illustrations by Lane, most made with the aid of a camera lucida. Lane (1801-1876) first traveled to Egypt in 1825, inspired by the dis-coveries made by Belzoni and others in the Valley of the Kings, but it was contempo-rary life that captured his imagination. He immersed himself in the culture, learning its language and adopting its way of life. The results were extraordinary: Out of his ex-periences came not only this work, but translations of The Thousand and One Nights, Se-lections from the Qur'an, and the seminal Arabic-English Lexicon. Composed at a time of increased western interest in and contact with Egypt, but before the forces of moderni-zation transformed the country, Manners and Customs is renowned for its comprehen-sive scope, detail and perceptiveness on such topics as Islamic laws and government, festivals, death and funeral rites, marriage, music, dancing, magic and alchemy, public baths and bargaining. Lane's work retains its power to charm and amaze-much like Egypt itself.