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Daughter of the Eagle - The Autobiography of an Albanian Girl
Nexhmie Zaimi tells the story of her life intertwined with that of post-independence Albania, the struggle for modernization and Europeanization, the clash between the old 'a'la turca' and the new 'a'la franga' manners, the beginning of a women's movement and the general pains of transition and nation-building. Her story is remarkable - she moves from a small village in 1930s Southern Albania to become the first female American journalist reporting from the Middle East.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2013
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March 29, 2025
A rare self-portrait of an Albanian girl before WW II
Fortunate to be born in 1917 into a wealthy family in a poor country, the author grew up in a very small hamlet south of Valonë in the southern part of Albania. She seems to have been a very bold, headstrong young kid who refused to wear her Muslim veiled garment, throwing it out the window. Her parents sent her to town to attend a girl’s school run by American missionary teachers. Obviously a bright student, she excelled—though causing some trouble with her independent character—and was sent to America for higher education after refusing an arranged marriage. She never returned to live in Albania, visiting it in 1939 and once more in 1986 (when she was expelled from the country). Albania was a vicious battleground of guerrilla units and the German and Italian armies during subsequent years, followed by nearly 70 years of brutal Communist rule. Zaini became an American citizen and an investigative journalist who worked particularly in the Middle East. She died in 2003. She worked for Albanian causes and helped many Albanians abroad all through her life.
That said, I would have to report that “Daughter of the Eagle” is a very youthful book. She wrote it when she was 21 years old, so her memories and stories are of the early times of her life. I have never seen any other book about Albanian life in the 1920s or early ‘30s written by a local, so Zaini’s book is quite unique. It was a time when old customs, shaped by over four centuries of Turkish rule, were changing. European ways and thinking had begun to penetrate. Albania itself had not been a separate nation for centuries. If you want to hear it from the horse’s mouth (sorry, Nexhmie) you’d better read it here. It contains youthful memories of her family members, school, parties, food and drink, family customs, marriages, funerals, and a brief episode of war when the country was invaded unsuccessfully by the Italians in the 1920s. Of introspection and adult observations there are none, but it’s interesting and a very light read.
P.S. Though Goodreads lists an edition from 2013, the original edition, which I purchased in Australia forty years ago, is from 1938.
Fortunate to be born in 1917 into a wealthy family in a poor country, the author grew up in a very small hamlet south of Valonë in the southern part of Albania. She seems to have been a very bold, headstrong young kid who refused to wear her Muslim veiled garment, throwing it out the window. Her parents sent her to town to attend a girl’s school run by American missionary teachers. Obviously a bright student, she excelled—though causing some trouble with her independent character—and was sent to America for higher education after refusing an arranged marriage. She never returned to live in Albania, visiting it in 1939 and once more in 1986 (when she was expelled from the country). Albania was a vicious battleground of guerrilla units and the German and Italian armies during subsequent years, followed by nearly 70 years of brutal Communist rule. Zaini became an American citizen and an investigative journalist who worked particularly in the Middle East. She died in 2003. She worked for Albanian causes and helped many Albanians abroad all through her life.
That said, I would have to report that “Daughter of the Eagle” is a very youthful book. She wrote it when she was 21 years old, so her memories and stories are of the early times of her life. I have never seen any other book about Albanian life in the 1920s or early ‘30s written by a local, so Zaini’s book is quite unique. It was a time when old customs, shaped by over four centuries of Turkish rule, were changing. European ways and thinking had begun to penetrate. Albania itself had not been a separate nation for centuries. If you want to hear it from the horse’s mouth (sorry, Nexhmie) you’d better read it here. It contains youthful memories of her family members, school, parties, food and drink, family customs, marriages, funerals, and a brief episode of war when the country was invaded unsuccessfully by the Italians in the 1920s. Of introspection and adult observations there are none, but it’s interesting and a very light read.
P.S. Though Goodreads lists an edition from 2013, the original edition, which I purchased in Australia forty years ago, is from 1938.
Displaying 1 of 1 review