Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell is a wonderful piece of historical fiction set during the time of the Cairo Conference in 1921. The ficticious main character, Agnes Shanklin, is in Cairo at the time, along with Winston Churchill, T.E. Lawrence, Gertrude Bell and others.

This is fabulous storytelling mixed in with well researched historical fact. I was captivated from the beginning. Whether you want to find out more about Lawrence of Arabia and the creation of the modern Middle East, or just read a good story about a school teacher from Ohio who finds herself in Egypt at an important time in history, Dreamers of the Day will satisfy. A wonderful novel.