NEWSGIRL IN EGYPT By Barbara Board
Miss Board's new book, like her previous one, will please the tourist agencies. Newsgirl in Egypt (Michael Joseph, 12s. 6d.) is little more than a brochure enlarged to book size by a few half-serious chapters on the life and customs of the more backward natives. She shows but perfunctory sympathy with, and but little understanding of, the Moslem mind, although she lived for a short time (she doesn't say how long, but one gathers about two weeks) with a poor fellah family. But that experience seems no more than a tourist's prank, and she was mostly occupied in seeing the usual sights, guided by the usual dragoman. So there are chapters on Port Said and Cairo, city night-life, the pyramids, famous mosques, and so on, and an account of the coronation of King Farouk at which she was present —all written with enthusiasm but little originality. But after all, she only claims to be a newsgirl, and though there is no news of any importance here—except to potential trippers—she has a pleasant enough newspaper style to hold her readers' interest. The illustrations are few and not very enterprising.
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