The long Egyptian struggle toward independence and freedom haunts Mahfouz’s literary canon. While the author’s own politics are usually cloaked in fiction, these brief essays clarify his unwavering belief in democracy, civilisation, tolerance and justice. These articles were published in al-Ahram newspaper in the tumultuous wake of Sadat’s assassination, as Mubarak’s early presidency survived an uprising in 1984, and then a mutiny in 1986. As such, they not only testify to Mahfouz’s developing convictions but to the daily life and convulsions of the nation in which they formed. The six years covered in the book were the last in which Mahfouz was active as a force in modern literature. While writing these essays, Mahfouz published, among other works, The Journey of Ibn Fattouma, and The Day the Leader Was Killed, finally bringing his work as a novelist to a close in 1988 with his last novel, The Coffee House. Essays of the Early Mubarak Era is the third of four volumes in which Mahfouz’s non-fiction work is translated into English for the first time.
