Customer Reviews

Leisure of an Egyptian Official, The

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Edward Cecil's account of his years as an advisor to the "Malia" (Finance Department) of the Egyptian Government is one of the funniest travel books ever written - I have read it repeatedly and howled with laughter each time. A younger son of Victorian Prime Minister Lord Salisbury, Cecil thoroughly believed in the philosophy of Empire and Kipling's idea of the "white man's burden." His racist characterizations of natives undoubtedly make modern Egyptians bristle, but he is equally merciless to his own people and class. Whether observing his befuddled servant Suleiman the Untruthful, mocking the robotlike demeanor of Imperial German diplomats, tweaking Egyptian Cabinet ministers with an insatiable lust for new office furniture, or describing the empty-headed British emigres who frequented his social circle, Cecil was a keen observer with a manic sense of humor. In one of his few serious moments he includes a brief biography of Lord Kitchener, whom he worked for and greatly admired, and it is regrettable that Cecil, like his idol, died prematurely, before he could write more than this small book.

Edward Cecil had a well-deserved reputation as a wit and this posthumously-published book demonstrates his talent in full measure. I laughed out loud at some of his hilarious descriptions of life as a British official in the Egyptian government of the late 19th century.

Like most writers of his time, he gives the Egyptians little credit for anything while accepting as virtuous the Empire's occupation of Egypt. He doesn't attempt any examination of the complex issues surrounding the occupation but that isn't his goal with the book anyway (Farman, Blunt, and others do that to varying degrees outside of Cromer).

Cecil doesn't spare his fatuous, stiff colleagues either. He's an equal opportunity skewerer and would perhaps have run with the Monty Python crowd in our day (well, maybe not). It's mostly a very light romp through colonial bureaucracy.

This book is a classic. One of the truly great wits of his time reflecting on the exotic world of late nineteenth century Egypt. His description of Egyptian civil servants and the German ambassador reduced me to tears of laughter. A wonderful, wonderful read which welcomes you back for refresher reads