Fountain of the Drowning is a multi-layered narrative set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period when Egypt witnessed dramatic events, from the constructionof the Suez Canal to the British occuation, which brought about rapid modernaization and the Europeanization of social norms.

Reem Bassiouney is an Egyptian author, professor of sociolinguistics and Chair Department of Applied linguistics at The American University in Cairo. She won numerous awards including the National Prize for Excellence in Literature from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture in 2022.