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Foreign correspondent Wendell Steavenson gives an account of the Egyptian Revolution and explains how the ordinary people of Cairo grappled with violence, bloodshed, hope and change.

Steavenson went to Egypt in January 2011 to cover events as Mubarak’s three-decade rule of the country was coming to an end. She spent her time in Tahir Square witnessing how Egyptians from all walks of life came together to challenge the oppressive regime. Steavenson captures the story through a number of characters including a young man with homemade pistol, a reluctant leader cast into the spotlight, a Muslim Brotherhood politician trying to smooth a restless parliament, and a military intelligence officer convinced only the army can save the country.

Steavenson has spent 15 years reporting from the Middle East for the New Yorker, The Guardian and Prospect magazine. She is also author of Stories I Stole about post-Soviet Georgia and The Weight of a Mustard Seed, about life in Saddam’s Iraq and the aftermath of the Iraq War.

Here she talks to history and travel writer Anthony Sattin.

Programme of African literature and culture.