A biography of the "Cinderella" of Egyptian cinema-the veneration and rumors that surrounded an unparalleled career, and the gendered questions that unsettled Egyptian society.
Layla Murad (1918-1995) was once the highest-paid star in Egypt, and her movies were among the top-grossing in the box office. She starred in 28 films, nearly all now classics in Arab musical cinema. In 1955 she was forced to stop acting-and struggled for decades for a comeback. Today, even decades after her death, public interest in her life continues, and new generations of Egyptians still love her work. Unknown Past recounts Murad''s extraordinary life-and the rapid political and sociocultural changes she witnessed.
Hanan Hammad writes a story centered on Layla Murad''s persona and legacy, and broadly framed around a gendered history of twentieth-century Egypt. Murad was a Jew who converted to Islam in the shadow of the first Arab-Israeli war. Her career blossomed under the Egypti
