by Jurji Zaydan
e above précis shows how Zaydan, the historical
novelist, frames the events in a serialized narrative, one in which the title character, Tree of Pearls, fulfi lls her role in the narrative sequence but then essentially disappears aft er the fi rst third of the narrative. (“Th
e Fall of Baghdad” might
have been an equally appropriate title for this novel, albeit without the admit-
ted attraction of using such an exotic name and character.) As is the case with
his other historical novels—and, as I have suggested above, with the chronology
of their composition—, individual chapters are provided with inviting titles (a
a n a f t e rwor d |
refl ection, no doubt, of their original positioning on the pages of the journal, Al-Hilal, where they fi rst appeared). Th
en a scenario, a relationship, an intrigue is
followed through in several successive chapters until a certain point, aft er which the scene and the characters change in an almost theatrical fashion. As is oft en the case with historical novels of the more “swashbuckling” kind, the character traits tend to be portrayed in bold colors: Sallafa, for example, and Sahban are shown to be truly evil and duplicitous; Shwaykar, the slave-girl songstress, is beautiful, sweet, and vulnerable; and Baybars is handsome and steadfast. In this and other novels, Zaydan relates history in an attractive fashion and occasionally indulges in some refl ection on human nature and foibles, but not for him the extensive musings on history itself and the methods of historians, which are such a prominent feature of, for example, Tolstoy’s historical novel, War and Peace.
Samah Selim, the translator of this novel, and I have been among those schol-
ars who have spent some considerable time in recent years pointing out the need
to re-examine and re-evaluate the cultural trends during the nineteenth century
that are clustered under the general heading in Arabic of “al-nahda, ” most oft en translated as “revival” or even “renaissance.” Following his emigration from his native Lebanon to Egypt in 1883, Jurji Zaydan played a very prominent role in
that process, although, like many indigenous trends in the cultural sphere, his role is one that has tended to be underappreciated within the broader context of the
importation of Western ideas and literary genres. Th
is has been particularly the
case with regard to the earliest stages in the development of a novel tradition in Arabic, examples of which can be traced back to at least the middle of the nineteenth century in Syro-Lebanon—where Zaydan’s remarkable series of twenty-one
novels should occupy a prominent position, but mostly have not, at least thus far.
In such a context, a recent initiative started by the author’s grandson, George
Zaydan, is a most welcome development. Th
e Zaidan Foundation, established in
Washington, DC, has published translations of some of his novels and studies of
his work.1 Coupled with this excellent translation of Tree of Pearls, these translations and studies should help to reinstate Jurji Zaydan into his rightful position 1. Th
e full series of Zaydan’s work in translation has now been completed. Included are: Th e
Conquest of Andalusia, Th
e Battle of Poitiers, Th
e Caliph’s Sister, Th
e Caliph’s Heirs, and Saladin
and the Assassins. All are available through the Zaidan Foundation on its website, at http://zaidan foundation.org/ZF_Website_HistoricalNovels.html.
| t r e e of pe a r l s , qu e e n of e g y p t as a major fi gure in the development of modern Arabic fi ction and thereby off er a further contribution to the several studies that are now reassessing the relative roles of the imported and indigenous in cultural trends in the Arabic-speaking
world during the nineteenth century.
Other titles from Middle East Literature in Translation
Abundance from the Desert: Classical Arabic Poetry
Raymond Farrin
Alfred Farag and Egyptian Th
eater: Th
e Poetics of Disguise, with Four
Short Plays and a Monologue
Dina A. Amin
An Arab’s Journey to Colonial Spanish America: Th
e Travels of
Elias al-Mûsili in the Seventeenth Century
Elias al-Mûsili; Caesar E. Farah, trans. and ed.
Beyond Love
Hadiya Hussein; Ikram Masmoudi, trans.
Canceled Memories: A Novel
Nazik Saba Yared
Contemporary Iraqi Fiction: An Anthology
Shakir Mustafa, trans. and ed.
A Muslim Suicide
Bensalem Himmich; Roger Allen, trans.
My Bird
Fariba Vafi ; Mahnaz Kousha and Nasrin Jewell, trans.
Th
ou Shalt Not Speak My Language
Abdelfattah Kilito; Waïl S. Hassan, trans.
Th
e Virgin of Solitude: A Novel
Taghi Modarressi; Nasrin Rahimieh, trans.
Document Outline
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Selim Final
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