The Leisure of an Egyptian Official

"The book is a reflection of the society it describes, and of the period in which it was written. All societies need to justify themselves, and it is hard to think of any possible way of justifying British imperial society without some racial content. In fact, if Lord Edward had had the opportunity to tone down the book, it would probably have reflected less accurately some awkward truths in this area, and might well have been less valuable by that fact. Lord Edward certainly makes fun of Egyptians, but his humour is just as much at the expense of expatriate British, both residents and visitors, and of many others. Humour is often cruel, and we tend to find cruel humour funny. So I think humour needs to be judged by its comic success, not by its accordance with our political or moral principles."- from the 2008 Introduction.