Three Ladies in Cairo takes the reader through an original and very personal story of three generations of Swedish women through which the evolution and the transformation of Egypt during three vital decades is apparent. The bookunfolds through three intertwined destinies of three ladies the grandmother whose husband worked asjudge at the Mixed Courts, the daughter who was married to the Swedish Ambassador to Egypt and, finally, the granddaughter who was educated in Cairo and is the author of this work.Through those three ladies, crucial stages in contemporaryEgyptian history is reflected and three contrasting snapshots of this country ‘in movement’ areshown. The grandmother Hilda reflects the colonial Egypt when people were still searching for their independence. At this time, Cairo was a refined and cosmopolitan city, where, despite its two million inhabitants, it remained a charmingplace to live in. The mother Ingrid who grew up amongst Cairo’s magnificent Europeanmansions, gives an inside view of the political revolution that transformed Egyptfrom a monarchy into an authoritarian socialist state. Finally, the author, Anne, describes thedemographic revolution that gradually turned Cairo into today’s sprawling mega-poleof 20 million inhabitants who suffer from noise and misery.The originality of this book lies not only in its fragmented vision of Egyptian history, but also in the stark contrast between the harsh reality of today that the author discovers after years of absence, and the magical memories of the past that was transmitted toher from the previous generations of her family. She gives us a documented andmoving testimony that allows us to share the passion that these three generations of Swedish women have held to Egypt.
