Imperial bodies : empire and death in Alexandria, Egypt / Shana Elizabeth Minkin.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : the imperial bodies of Alexandria -- Foreign hospitals, local institutions -- Mourning the dead, connecting the living -- A house for the dead, a home for the living -- Dying to be French, dying to be British -- Conclusion : the death of empire.

"This book explores the history of imperialism and local governance in Egypt from the 1860s through the beginning of World War I through exploring the bureaucracy of death. Shana Minkin demonstrates that when it came to the mundanity of the day-to-day, of protecting national and imperial subjects in Egypt, imperial power asserted itself not through unilateral assertions of the colonial state but through the local consulate's attenuated claims of belonging. By investigating how foreign death was managed in Egypt, Imperial Bodies affirms that the British were never the sole power in Egypt, that the French never fully relinquished their claim to imperial space in Egypt, and that the Egyptian national government wielded significant control over vital decisions about resources and land"-- Provided by publisher.