In 2002, three young women with no business degrees, no formal training, and nothing to lose founded a fiercely independent bookstore.
At the time, nothing like Diwan existed in Cairo. Culture was languishing under government mismanagement, and books were considered a luxury, not a necessity.
Over the next decade, these three women would contend with censors, chauvinists, critics, one another and many people who said they would never succeed in establishing Diwan as Cairo’s leading bookstore.
Frank, fresh and very funny, Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller is a portrait of a country hurtling toward a revolution, a feminist rallying cry, and an unapologetic crash course in running a business under the law of entropy.
Above all, it is a celebration of the power of words to bring us home.
‘A unique memoir about career, life, love, friendship, motherhood, and the impossibility of succeeding at all of them at the same time… fascinating. Blunt, honest, funny’ – Jenny Lawson
‘For every reader who has found solace in the aisles of a bookstore’ – Emma Straub
‘A moving portrait of Diwan and the Cairo that embraced it, an ode to all the people who have kept it going’ – Harvard Review
Delivery options
Orders are processed and dispatched Monday to Friday.
Estimated Dispatch Times:
Items are usually dispatched within twenty-four to seventy-two hours. Dispatch time does not include delivery. If one or more items are not available when you place your order there may be a delay in dispatch, so that we can send your items in as few parcels as possible.
Latest UK Delivery Estimates
- 1st Class - 1-2 working days
- 2nd Class - 2-3 working days
- Free Click and Collect at Daunt Books Marylebone
Latest International Delivery Estimates
- Europe - Standard 7-10 working days
- Europe - Tracked and Signed 4-7 working days
- Rest of the World - Standard 15-20 working days
- Rest of the World - Tracked and Signed 10-15 working days
Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe.
Overseas Delivery Information
We are experiencing delays with deliveries to many countries, but in most cases local services have now resumed. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin.
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