Follett weaves elements of history and Egyptian local color into his fictional narrative to create a sense of verisimilitude. The events of The Key to Rebecca occur against a historical and cultural backdrop which suggests their reality.

Actual figures of the 1940s rub elbows with characters of Follett's own creation in the streets and the homes of Cairo.

This exotic and cosmopolitan setting allows Follett to show the interaction of people of diverse nationalities. The novel's various scenes center primarily on the lives of a Jew, an Arab, an Englishman, and a German-Arab half breed. Lives that at first are unconnected are gradually drawn together. Most of the glimpses of the book's characters are narrated from a third person point of view. But Follett now and then gives a more intimate look into his characters' lives. On more than one occasion, Follett makes a sudden shift from third...