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The Girl with Braided Hair
The lives of two women living centuries apart are connected by an enigmatic painting in this mesmerizing debut based on historical events
Art historian, Yasmine, is restoring an unsigned portrait of a strikingly beautiful girl from the Napoleonic Era, when she discovers that the artist has embedded a lock of hair into the painting, something highly unusual. The mysterious painting came into the museum’s possession without record, and Yasmine becomes consumed by the secret concealed within this captivating work.
Meanwhile, at the close of the French Campaign in Egypt, sixteen-year-old Zeinab, the daughter of a prominent sheikh, is drawn into French high society when Napoleon himself requests her presence. Enamored by the foreign customs of the Europeans, she finds herself on a dangerous path, one that may ostracize her from her family and culture.
Seamlessly merging fiction with history, art, and politics, modern day Cairo with its opulent past, this compelling story of two women caught between worlds and entangled in matters of the heart launches an entrancing new literary voice.
Copyright page states:
"First published in Arabic in 2017 as Shaghaf by Arab Scientific Publishers.
English translation copyright 2020 by Sarah Enany."
Art historian, Yasmine, is restoring an unsigned portrait of a strikingly beautiful girl from the Napoleonic Era, when she discovers that the artist has embedded a lock of hair into the painting, something highly unusual. The mysterious painting came into the museum’s possession without record, and Yasmine becomes consumed by the secret concealed within this captivating work.
Meanwhile, at the close of the French Campaign in Egypt, sixteen-year-old Zeinab, the daughter of a prominent sheikh, is drawn into French high society when Napoleon himself requests her presence. Enamored by the foreign customs of the Europeans, she finds herself on a dangerous path, one that may ostracize her from her family and culture.
Seamlessly merging fiction with history, art, and politics, modern day Cairo with its opulent past, this compelling story of two women caught between worlds and entangled in matters of the heart launches an entrancing new literary voice.
Copyright page states:
"First published in Arabic in 2017 as Shaghaf by Arab Scientific Publishers.
English translation copyright 2020 by Sarah Enany."
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
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236 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 15, 2021
Told in two time-lines, Cairo, 2011 and 1798.
Cairo 2011: Art History professor Yasmine Ghaleb comes into possession of a painting that was saved during the Egyptian revolution of 2011. Yasmine has been asked to restore the painting. She is instantly captivated by the painting which is unsigned. Upon further investigation she is stunned to find locks of real human hair embedded in the painting. This is too much of a mystery for Yasmine to ignore sending her on an adventure to learn the origins of the painting, the girl with braided hair depicted in the painting and the artist.
This turned out to be an adventure for me as well as Yasmine since I had no knowledge of Bonaparte’s French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801).
Cairo 1798: Zeinab, the girl with braided hair, is the sixteen year old daughter of a prominent sheikh who is a glutton for power and takes sides with Napoléon even as Napoléon has invaded his country and brought his debauched western ways in total contravention to the sheikh’s Islamic country.
As those who know the history will know Napoléon’s campaign did not end well, but the author has brought us a fascinating love story in the midst of brutal deaths and turmoil – as well as Yasmine’s search for answers to explain this intriguing painting. If you have watched and loved the TV show “Fake or Fortune” Yasmine’s research is in that same vein.
Some passages about Napoléon’s campaign seem to ramble on and on and a whole section about whirling dervishes left me dazed but history buffs will likely find them more interesting.
This is a translation as so some leeway must be made – although I don’t think that Telegrams could have been sent in 1798.
I thoroughly enjoyed this very different story. Well done to author and translator!
Cairo 2011: Art History professor Yasmine Ghaleb comes into possession of a painting that was saved during the Egyptian revolution of 2011. Yasmine has been asked to restore the painting. She is instantly captivated by the painting which is unsigned. Upon further investigation she is stunned to find locks of real human hair embedded in the painting. This is too much of a mystery for Yasmine to ignore sending her on an adventure to learn the origins of the painting, the girl with braided hair depicted in the painting and the artist.
This turned out to be an adventure for me as well as Yasmine since I had no knowledge of Bonaparte’s French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801).
Cairo 1798: Zeinab, the girl with braided hair, is the sixteen year old daughter of a prominent sheikh who is a glutton for power and takes sides with Napoléon even as Napoléon has invaded his country and brought his debauched western ways in total contravention to the sheikh’s Islamic country.
As those who know the history will know Napoléon’s campaign did not end well, but the author has brought us a fascinating love story in the midst of brutal deaths and turmoil – as well as Yasmine’s search for answers to explain this intriguing painting. If you have watched and loved the TV show “Fake or Fortune” Yasmine’s research is in that same vein.
Some passages about Napoléon’s campaign seem to ramble on and on and a whole section about whirling dervishes left me dazed but history buffs will likely find them more interesting.
This is a translation as so some leeway must be made – although I don’t think that Telegrams could have been sent in 1798.
I thoroughly enjoyed this very different story. Well done to author and translator!
February 19, 2022
Abandoned at page 85. The story is not capturing me and the writing is mediocre. So sad :(.
November 21, 2025
Arab fiction. Two parallel love stories set in contemporary Egypt and the 18th century, connected through a single painting. Eye-opening perspective of Napoleon’s military campaign in Egypt. Sheds light on the hardships experienced by the Egyptians as a result of European expansion into the East. Explores themes of love, art, cultural conflict, identity and resilience.
January 25, 2025
Really beautiful writing and an interesting plot. I just felt that there were too many perspectives and some didn't seem relevant. I loved the historical and artistic elements. 4/5
September 28, 2021
Some parts are a little slow, but overall this book was an interesting read. I especially liked learning about Egypt outside of ancient times which is what is so often focused on in history classes in the US.
August 20, 2023
3.75*
I went on a bit of a journey with this novel. In the beginning I found the writing clunky and unengaging. I was not sure whether it was the original writing or the translation, but it took me a while to get into. Honestly though, in the end I really enjoyed this one.
The story is told in two timelines, mostly in Cairo, partly in 2012 and the other in the late 1790s at the time of Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt. In 2012 we follow a art historian and in the past we follow a girl believed to be Napoleon’s mistress. From what I understand from a Google search the girl in the story actually existed, but I could not find out much about her.
From about a third in I found I was really enjoying the story. The structure of the story still bothered me here and there. The point of views jumped around a little bit from paragraph to paragraph, which jolted me out of the story sometimes. But although some the information revealed to Yasmine, the art historian, felt a little too detailed and the letters that Alton wrote in the 1790s a bit overkill, I still found myself reading quite happily.
On a side note, I knew nothing about Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt, so it was interesting to learn something about that. I like it when historical fiction has something new to show me. I do wish there was a little note from the author telling the reader what events inspired her and which people in the narrative actually existed. I think that may have added something,
I enjoyed this and would recommend it, but I would say that the writing is not amazing, especially in the earlier part of the book.
I went on a bit of a journey with this novel. In the beginning I found the writing clunky and unengaging. I was not sure whether it was the original writing or the translation, but it took me a while to get into. Honestly though, in the end I really enjoyed this one.
The story is told in two timelines, mostly in Cairo, partly in 2012 and the other in the late 1790s at the time of Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt. In 2012 we follow a art historian and in the past we follow a girl believed to be Napoleon’s mistress. From what I understand from a Google search the girl in the story actually existed, but I could not find out much about her.
From about a third in I found I was really enjoying the story. The structure of the story still bothered me here and there. The point of views jumped around a little bit from paragraph to paragraph, which jolted me out of the story sometimes. But although some the information revealed to Yasmine, the art historian, felt a little too detailed and the letters that Alton wrote in the 1790s a bit overkill, I still found myself reading quite happily.
On a side note, I knew nothing about Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt, so it was interesting to learn something about that. I like it when historical fiction has something new to show me. I do wish there was a little note from the author telling the reader what events inspired her and which people in the narrative actually existed. I think that may have added something,
I enjoyed this and would recommend it, but I would say that the writing is not amazing, especially in the earlier part of the book.
November 18, 2021
Yasmine is an Egyptian art historian and conservator, working to restore a painting from the Napoleonic era in 2012. The painting is of a beautiful young woman, but it is unsigned and stewardship of the painting from the time of the French Campaign is unclear. It is the kind of mystery that Yasmine loves, and is a welcome distraction from her personal life. Changing timelines to 1798, Zeinab is the daughter of a power-seeking sheikh who has closely allied himself with Napoleon. When Napoleon expresses an interest in Zeinab, her father is happy to encourage the relationship. While the attention is exciting, as time goes on Zeinab starts to question the distance it’s putting between her, her family, and their culture.
This was an interesting story, and the interweaving of the dual timelines was well done. Sometimes the narration from Alton’s perspective dragged, particularly in the later portion of the book, and the resolution to Yasmine’s story felt rushed. These are small issues relative to the overall quality of the story.
I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.
This was an interesting story, and the interweaving of the dual timelines was well done. Sometimes the narration from Alton’s perspective dragged, particularly in the later portion of the book, and the resolution to Yasmine’s story felt rushed. These are small issues relative to the overall quality of the story.
I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.
March 6, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. I have to say that I really enjoyed Yasmine's story throughout this book, and even found myself really relating to her at certain points and could see myself in her shoes. The reason it's 3.5/4 stars from me, though, is because I can't so much say the same for Zeinab's story. Zeinab's story was a bit boring at points, and overall just not very engaging. This is a shame because the reason that I picked this for the Egypt prompt in Storygraph's Read the World challenge is because of it being Egyptian historical fiction that wasn't centered around Ancient Egypt! So I would've loved to have loved the historical fiction part of this more.
That being said, however, it's not that I hated Zeinab's character by any means, and I did find myself feeling emotional over things that happened to her. This book was also very informative on the actual history of the time period in Egypt.
I could definitely see myself still recommending this, just maybe not super enthusiastically.
That being said, however, it's not that I hated Zeinab's character by any means, and I did find myself feeling emotional over things that happened to her. This book was also very informative on the actual history of the time period in Egypt.
I could definitely see myself still recommending this, just maybe not super enthusiastically.
April 1, 2025
The story is interesting—an Egyptian art historian who comes upon an intriguing painting and is determined to uncover the story behind it, the story (it turns out) of a young Egyptian girl who caugh the eye of Napoleon, but who in turn fell in love with an artist in Napoleon's entourage. The detective work is what held this reader's attention throughout. The side story of the art historian's personal history was somewhat interesting too. I'd have liked the book a lot better if I'd not been so annoyed by what I felt were its shortcomings, which could easily have been resolved by better editing (so says this copyeditor).
August 22, 2025
I just wanted so much more. Things got repetitive and storylines were repeated and reiterated multiple times. Historical names that were dropped were hard to keep track of and added little to the story. Wanted a better ending, wanted Alton’s journal to be gifted to Yasmine, wanted more romance writing in general, more poetic lines of love, and some sort of ending with the grandma. Yasmine got annoying and Sherif’s backstory added little to the story. Just odd. But I did enjoy the feeling of living in another time period/place. I’m traveling to France and Egypt soon and happen to have gotten myself in my own love triangle so this book suited my fancy well enough!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2024
This novel is of two stories connected by a painting. Yasmine in modern-day Cairo is in charge of restoring a portrait of a young woman. Two hundred years ago, that young woman caught the eye of Napoleon. I enjoyed this novel far more than I thought I would when I first started reading it. Before reading this book, all I knew about Napoleon's conquest of Egypt was that the Sphinx lost it's nose.
One thing this book lacks is an author's note at the end. I would have liked to know what inspired the author to write this novel.
One thing this book lacks is an author's note at the end. I would have liked to know what inspired the author to write this novel.
February 20, 2024
3.5 Stars
There were many things I loved about this book. It had several narrators in two separate timelines. Modern-day Cairo and 1790s Egypt during the campaign of Napolean. I learned so much, and I thought the book used different characters to show that history is never simple.
There were a few narrative lines that didn't seem to serve the book as a whole and easily could have been eliminated. This overall slowed down the pace of the book until the final chapter, where it rushed to neatly wrap up the story.
There were many things I loved about this book. It had several narrators in two separate timelines. Modern-day Cairo and 1790s Egypt during the campaign of Napolean. I learned so much, and I thought the book used different characters to show that history is never simple.
There were a few narrative lines that didn't seem to serve the book as a whole and easily could have been eliminated. This overall slowed down the pace of the book until the final chapter, where it rushed to neatly wrap up the story.
December 31, 2024
The story was interesting in regards to Napoléon's campaign in Egypt and what took place. I didn't feel satisfied with the main character. There wasn't much depth there.
There was a present day story that was being told and that story also didn't have much depth.
There was a present day story that was being told and that story also didn't have much depth.
November 14, 2020
Great book
March 17, 2024
Reading this, was anticlimactic. I felt that there was a lot left unsaid, an example of is that there was no scene of her actually being painted. There is also no mention of how he had placed her lock of hair. I get that the author was trying to include the perspective of the other characters. I was not a big fan of their POV's besides Yasmine and Zeinab. Although, I can say the entire chapter of Zeinab's death had me balling. The melodrama should have been more focused on the connection between Yasmine and Zeinab.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews