Alexandra Avierino (November 1872 – 1937) was an English-Lebanese writer.

Biography

She was born Alexandra Constantine Khuri in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

into a Greek Christian Orthodox family. She was educated at convent schools in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and then

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. While still in her teens, she married Miltiades di Avierino, who was of Italian and Spanish descent. The couple had two daughters and a son. Avierino became a British subject through her marriage. In 1898, she founded ''

Anis al-Jalis ''Anis al-Jalis'' ( / , ) was a monthly women's magazine published in Alexandria from 1898 to 1907. Its founder and editor was Alexandra Avierino, a British and Greek female writer who was born in Lebanon and spent most of her career life in Egy ...

'' ("The Sociable Companion"), a monthly

women's magazine This is a list of women's magazines from around the world. These are magazines that have been published primarily for a readership of woman, women. Currently published *''10 Magazine (UK), 10 Magazine'' (UK – distributed worldwide) *''Al Jam ...

, also serving as its editor. In 1900, she travelled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where she represented Egypt at the conference of the Alliance universelle des femmes pour la paix, an international peace society, which was held during the Exposition Universelle of that year. Its founder Princess Gabrielle Wiszniewska bequeathed her title to Avierino, so after the princess died, she called herself Princess Alexandra di Avierino Wiszniewska. In 1901, she started a French literary review ''Le Lotus''; it was expensive to produce and only appeared for a year. She continued to produce ''Anis al-Jalis'' until she was forced to shut it down for financial reasons in 1907. Avierino also wrote poetry and a play. She held a

literary salon A salon is a gathering of people held by a host. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to please or to educate" (Latin: ''aut delectare aut prodesse''). Salons in the tradition of the Fren ...

where intellectuals, both women and men, could gather. She contributed to newspapers such as ''al-Muqaṭṭam'' (pro-British) and ''

Al-Mu'ayyad Ibrahim ibn Jaʽfar al-Mutawakkil (; died 866), better known by his '' laqab'' al-Mu'ayyad (, was an Abbasid prince, the third son of the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil, He was the governor of Syria from 850 to 861 and also for a time third-in-lin ...

'' (anti-British). During the early 1920s, she was forced to travel to England to resolve issues related to her status as a

British citizen The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...

. Then, in July 1924, she was arrested by Egyptian authorities and accused of being involved in an assassination attempt on Prime Minister

Saad Zaghloul Saad Zaghloul Pasha ( / ; also ''Sa'd Zaghloul Pasha ibn Ibrahim'') (July 1857 – 23 August 1927) was an Egyptian revolutionary and statesman. He was the leader of Egypt's nationalist Wafd Party, and served as the first Honorary President of ...

. After being interrogated and released, she left for England. On her return, she was denied entry into Egypt. She later died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avierino, Alexandra 20th-century English women writers 20th-century Lebanese women writers 20th-century Egyptian women writers 20th-century Egyptian writers 20th-century English journalists 1872 births 1926 deaths Lebanese emigrants to the United Kingdom Greek Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United Kingdom Egyptian emigrants to England English women journalists Egyptian women journalists English people of Greek descent Lebanese people of Greek descent Lebanese emigrants to Egypt Lebanese women writers Egyptian magazine founders