First published 1982
E.M. Forster arrives in Alexandria during autumn 1915 as a Red Cross volunteer, carrying noble intentions but finding himself in what he considers a refuge from real action. Rather than focus solely on his wartime duties, Forster becomes captivated by the city's layers of history and mystery. He traces Alexandria's evolution from Alexander the Great's legendary capital through its role as the center of Graeco-Roman Egypt, illuminated by the Pharaohs' cultural achievements. The city witnessed Antony and Cleopatra's tragic romance and housed the ancient world's greatest library. Forster weaves together three millennia of Alexandria's past with literary traditions and his personal observations as an outsider trying to understand this complex place. His novelist's perspective transforms historical research into vivid storytelling, creating both a tribute to Alexandria's enduring significance and an unintentional self-portrait of the author grappling with his own displacement during wartime.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, academic
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water
Setting: Alexandria, Egypt
Period: Autumn 1915, Graeco-Roman Era
279 pages · Paperback · Michael Haag