Lucie Ryzová is a social and cultural historian of modern Egypt, with a particular interest in Egyptian popular culture and vernacular modernity. Her work delves into how Egyptian society has been shaped by modernization, examining manifestations of this modernity in everyday life and cultural practices. Ryzová focuses on analyzing less-explored facets of Egyptian history to uncover the dynamics and complexity of its development.
In colonial-era Egypt, a new social category of modern men emerged, the efendiyya, who represented the new middle class elite. This volume explores how they assumed a key political role in the anti-colonial movement and in the building of a modern state both before and after the revolution of 1952.