Palace of Desire is the second novel in Nobel Prize-winner Naguib Mahfouz’s magnificent Cairo Trilogy, an epic family saga set against the backdrop of colonial Egypt. The story follows three generations of the family led by tyrannical patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with a strict hand while living a secret life of self-indulgence. In this volume, Mahfouz delves into the struggles of al-Sayyid Ahmad’s rebellious children as they seek to break free from their father’s dominion, navigating the tumultuous changes brought about by the 1920s—modernization and the political and domestic upheavals that shake their world. Translated by William Maynard Hutchins, Lorne M. Kenny, and Olive E. Kenny, this rich narrative continues Mahfouz’s exploration of Egyptian society with its complex characters and intricate plot.