Taha Hussein (1889-1973), blind from early childhood, rose from humble beginnings to pursue a distinguished career in Egyptian public life, but he was most influential through his voluminous, varied, and controversial writings. The stories in The Sufferers were first published in the periodical al-Katib al-Masri in 1946, but were banned by the government when collected in book form in 1947. The collection was finally published in Lebanon, and was only published in Egypt after the 1952 Revolution.

Taha Hussein (1889-1973) was most influential through his voluminous, varied, and controversial writings. He was unofficially known as the ''Dean of Arabic Letters.'' Mona El-Zayyat, a granddaughter of Taha Hussein, lives in Cairo.