HAIDAR, Rahme. Under Syrian Stars. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company. [1929].
8vo. Original cloth with the rarely seen illustrated dust-wrappers; pp. 192; plates after photographs; wrapper a little discoloured and with marginal flaws, a little spotting to plates and light toning or spotting to text, as usual.
First edition, with the rarely seen wrapper preserved, boldly signed by the author in both English and Arabic on front fly-leaf. Rahme Haidar was a self-styled princess with a noble lineage going back to pre-Islamic times. Born near Ba'albek she grew up in Lebanon (which she highly praises), where she was educated by American missionaries. She claims to have family ties with Ali Haidar Pasha, Emir and Grand Sharif of Mecca during the Arab Revolt.
Princess Rahme Haidar "was one of the most famous Syrian lecturers to tour the United States. Born in (today's) Lebanon in 1866 and educated at English and American schools, she eventually converted to Protestantism and moved to Los Angeles to study at the University of California (Eads). From the 1910s through the 1930s, Haidar travelled to churches nationwide, presenting her lecture “Under Syrian Stars” and performing plays based on Biblical stories. In 1928, while visiting Ba’albek near her home in Mount Lebanon, Haidar created a moving picture to add to her lectures which she named “Gems of the East.” Her collaborator on the project, Lucille Burgess, was her secretary and rumored romantic partner (Eads). In her 1929 book, Under Syrian Stars, Haidar tells both her life story and that of her country, stating that she wishes to help fix the "somewhat meager idea of Syrian culture and civilization" in America and particularly emphasizes Christianity’s origins in the Middle East (Haidar, 9). Haidar claims that her goal was to show the truth about Syria and debunk American myths, even as she added to them through fabrications like labeling herself as a princess despite having no proven affiliation with any royal family" (Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies).
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