(1920-1990)

Ihsan Abdel Quddous is a popular writer of fiction and his work has been adapted for cinema, television and radio. He is the son of Fatma (Rose) el Youssef, a well-known journalist and magazine owner of the thirties, of Lebanese origin, who earlier had a distinguished career on the stage.

lhsan Abdel Quddous was born in Egypt on January 1, 1919, a period of national resistance against the British occupation, led by Saad Zaghloul. He graduated from the Faculty of Law in 1942. At first, he joined the law office of Edward Qussairi while working as a journalist for Rose el Youssef Magazine. But due to his reserved nature he resigned the legal profession and dedicated himself to journalism and literature. He did, however, maintain the title of lawyer on the name plate on the door to his office at Rose el Youssef Magazine.

Although Abdel Quddous was born into a well-off family, he was brought up to rural rather than aristocratic traditions. His grandfather; Sheikh Ahmad Radwan took young Ihsan to spend the summer holiday in the countryside , thus keeping him away from the artistic environment in which his parents were involved.

In his childhood he was an avid reader and his father, who was keen on providing his son with the best education, encouraged him. He was deeply influenced by the overwhelming personality of his mother, a dedicated career artist and journalist, his loving and caring aunt, and his wife.

Abdel Quddous was a prolific writer. He wrote 49 novels which were adapted to film, 5 novels which were dramatized, 9 novels which were adapted to a radio series, 10 novels which were adapted for television and 56 other books. His output of romantic novels and short stories cover some twenty volumes. In his writings, he urged Egyptian and Arab women to actively participate in the public life.

Several of his novels were translated into English, French, Ukrainian, Chinese, and German.

Awards and prizes that he received include:

Order of Merit of the First Class, awarded by President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

First Prize for “My Blood , Tears and Smile”, in 1973 .

Best Film Story Prize for “The Bullet is Still in my Pocket”, in 1975.

Order of the Republic of the First Class, awarded by President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak posthumously in 1990.

Read Arabic Short Stories

References: Arabic Short Stories, ed. Mahmoud Manzalaou, 1985, American University of Cairo Press, p 76.
Egypt State Information Service http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Arts&Culture/Literature/Novels/ProminentNovelists/