Looking for Little Egypt

Little Egypt was a pre-Hollywood sex symbol. She was created by & personified the Western obsession for the exotic. She was born in an age when showmen, in deliberate Barnum-esque fashion, outdid each other to manipulate the press & mislead the public by fabricating larger-than-life personalities. More than 27 million people came to Chicago in 1893 to tour the great World’s Colombian Exposition, & many of them delighted in the “dancing girls” of the Egyptian theatre. One such dancer, known professionally as “Little Egypt,” found notoriety through her involvement in a spicy scandal. Was there any truth to the stories circulated about Little Egypt, or was it just sideshow spiel? Why were so many different woman later proclaimed as “the original” Little Egypt? Carefully researched & lavishly illustrated, Looking for Little Egypt also documents the Oriental exhibits at the 1893 fair, providing a detailed look at entertainers who fascinated-and scandalized-audiences of the day.