Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood
Fatema Mernissi
 The memoir details Mernissi's childhood and adolescence in a traditional harem in Fez, Morocco during the 1940s and early 1950s. The young Mernissi narrates her childhood at both the traditional, walled harem in Fez and the equally traditional but geographically open harem belonging to her grandfather, in the countryside. Of particular concern for Mernissi and her cousin Samir is the definition of adult concepts--throughout the memoir, they are constantly discussing the nature of the harem, of hudud (sacred frontiers), questions of truth versus convenience, and the growing tension between French colonial forces and Moroccan nationalists.