An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians

Edward William Lane

Few works about the Middle East have exerted such wide and long-lasting influence as Edward William Lanes An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. First published in 1836, this classic book has never gone out of print, continuously providing material and inspiration for generations of scholars, writers, and travelers, who have praised its comprehensiveness, detail, and perception. Yet the editions in print during most of the twentieth century would not have met Lanes approval. Lacking parts of Lanes text and many of his original illustrations (while adding many that were not his), they were based on what should have been ephemeral editions, published long after the authors death. Meanwhile, the definitive fifth edition of 1860, the result of a quarter century of Lanes corrections, reconsiderations, and additions, long ago disappeared from bookstore shelves.

Now the 1860 edition of Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians is available again, with a useful general introduction by Jason Thompson. Lanes greatest work enters the twenty-first century in precisely the form that he wanted.