Where the Jinn Consult
Palestine

Where the Jinn Consult

by Soraya Antonius

Colonialism Historical Fiction Satire 2027

Summary

In the final years of British-ruled Palestine, Jerusalem’s privileged elite continue to enjoy their comfortable lives while the world around them edges towards catastrophe. When Maliha al-Ghal’s husband, a prominent Palestinian politician, is deported by the British, her carefully ordered existence begins to unravel. Her friend Violet Dhaishi, meanwhile, remains absorbed in social gatherings, shopping, and a secret affair with a British officer, oblivious to the escalating violence threatening their society. As bombings multiply and political tensions intensify, the Palestinian upper classes cling to their privilege, reluctant to acknowledge the forces gathering against them. Through interwoven lives, personal betrayals, and political intrigue, Soraya Antonius exposes the dangerous complacency of a society unable to recognise its impending dispossession. Both an intimate portrait of pre-Nakba Palestine and a fierce critique of colonial power and social privilege, Where the Jinn Consult captures the tragic distance between a world people believe will endure and the one they are about to lose.

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Country
Palestine
Asia
About the author
Soraya Antonius
Soraya Antonius

Soraya Antonius (1932–2017) was a Palestinian writer, journalist, filmmaker, editor, and cultural activist. Born in Jerusalem during the British Mandate, she was the only child of George Antonius, a prominent Arab intellectual and diplomat, and Katy Nimr, a socialite and philanthropist. She studied at Cheltenham Ladies’ College in England before attending the Slade School of Fine Art in London. Later, she settled in Beirut, Lebanon, where she worked in journalism, publishing, and cultural preservation. Deeply committed to Palestinian history and political representation, Antonius was a founding member of the Fifth of June Society, which sought to educate journalists and the public about Palestine. She also wrote and produced Resistance, Why?, a documentary about the Palestinian revolution. Her two novels, The Lord (1986) and Where the Jinn Consult (1987), explore Palestinian society under British colonial rule, combining historical insight with an examination of power, resistance, and cultural identity. Her writing remains an important contribution to Palestinian literature and the preservation of stories from a world transformed by conflict and displacement.

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Published
2027
Author
Soraya Antonius