An analysis of representations of the racially ambiguous queen of Egypt, from Shakespearean appropriations to performances by Elizabeth Taylor and Queen Latifah. Index, bib, notes, xii, 258pp, UK. PALGRAVE.

Sets El Saadawi's literary work within the context of her activism, in particular showing how her ideas for the renewal of society run through her writing. The author takes into consideration the complexities of modern Egyptian societies including women's role and Islamic fundamentalism. BNS, 202pp, USA. EDWIN MELLEN PRESS.

Travelling through the working class districts of Cairo and the villages of the Nile Delta and Upper Nile, the author reveals the lives of ordinary Egyptian women in the closing decade of the twentieth century. Despite advances in technology, and political and social upheavals, rural Egyptian women remain trapped by ancient customs and poverty. Index, 140pp, UK. ZED BOOKS, 0862328071

In the late nineteenth century short sketches by and about women began to appear in biographical dictionaries an women's journals. By 1940, hundreds of such biographies had been published featuring Arabs, Turks, Indians, Europeans, North Americans and ancient Greeks and Persians. The author uses over 500 'famous women' biographies and shows how these narratives prescribe complex role models for middle class women in Egypt, during a time of social upheaval. Notes, bib, index, xxxviii, 460pp, USA. CALIFORNIA U P, 0520224205

Well known for her fiction, Egyptian writer Soueif draws out the linkages between 'small' things and universal categories. From visiting Palestine and entering the Noble Sanctuary for the first time, to interpretations of women who choose to wear the veil, and to post September 11th commentary, these selected essays are always perceptive and intelligent. 338pp, UK. BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC.

A study presenting an account of the economic, political, social, and cultural reasons for polygyny in rural Egypt, investigating in particular gender relations in polygynous marriages. BNS, EGYPT. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO, 9774247663

As poverty and inequality are accentuated how can women cope with poverty and seek to extract benefits such as welfare payments, pensions from both state agencies and religious welfare organizations? Women encounter a serious gender bias which is focused against those women who head their own households. The author's conclusions examine the gendered nature of the state. Notes, bib, index, ix, 206pp, UK. ZED BOOKS.