I’ve been on an Egypt kick lately, reading a mix of historical fiction and nonfiction. Here are a few recent reads.
Mirage: Napoleon’s Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt by Nina Burleigh
I knew nothing about Napoleon’s ill-considered foray into Egypt in the late 18th century. Intending to invade the country and use it as a springboard to conquer other parts of North Africa and the Middle East, Napoleon brought not only his army but also a small group of savants, scientists whose job it was to study anything and everything about a country most French people knew nothing about. In fact, the savants (and most of the soldiers) had no idea where they were going when they agreed to follow Napoleon on his latest jaunt; they were persuaded by a combination of scientific curiosity and Napoleon’s star power. They included over 150 astronomers, mathematicians, naturalists, artists, chemists, and even a musicologist. Many of these men were pioneers in their field.
They were in Egypt for just over three years, were the first Europeans to uncover the Rosetta Stone (though it became the property of the British – and remains so despite Egypt’s requests to have it returned – when they defeated the French not much later), and compiled a huge 23-volume book describing what they had observed and learned. I found Mirage interesting in a number of ways: the history of science and scientific study including the advent of Egyptology, how 18th century Egyptians lived, the clash of cultures and how the savants embraced or rejected colonization and conquest, the character of Napoleon and how and why so many of his countrymen idolized him, and much more. Two details in particular that I remember vividly: in their thirst while trekking across the hot and dry desert, the French would often gulp down seemingly fresh water that was infested with tiny leeches, which then became stuck in their throats and grew; and in 1799, Napoleon abandoned his army in Egypt to return to France, leaving his army and his savants without their leader in Egypt for two more years, during which they suffered from bubonic plague, attacks from Egyptians and Turks, and finally succumbed to the British army, which forced them to surrender most of their artifacts.
Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie
For most of us, Agatha Christie’s books were written far enough in the past that even though they were set in her own time, they feel like historical fiction. But much to my delight, Christie did write a genuine historical mystery, one set in ancient Egypt around 2,000 BC. It’s still classic Christie though: a murder in a family home, with a limited suspect pool made up of the family members and servants. Here, the new concubine of a ka-priest is murdered, and everyone in the home had reason to want her dead, including the ka-priest’s three sons, their wives, a resentful servant, a scribe new to the household, and the ka-priest’s elderly mother. The only person beyond suspicion is the de facto protagonist Renisenb, the ka-priest’s only daughter who has returned to the household after her husband died.
There are some interesting details about Egyptian daily life, in particular the job of a ka-priest, someone hired by an Egyptian to maintain a loved one’s tomb (in this book, the ka-priest is a respected and wealthy landowner). And as the concubine is only the first of many murders, Christie has ample opportunity to show ancient Egyptian death rites. The book opens with a letter from Christie herself to Professor S. R. K. (Stephen) Glanville, an Egyptologist and friend of Christie’s who inspired the idea of a historical mystery set there. Christie clearly did some research into ancient Egypt, though the book never does feel truly immersive; historical fiction was not her forte. The mystery, though, is a good one – details all come together in the end, and while the rising body count narrows the suspect pool substantially so that readers may likely guess the culprit before the reveal, it’s still satisfying. Moreover, it’s just an interesting thing to read about how Christie imagined Ancient Egypt.
The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess
I wrote a bit about this one a couple of weeks ago, when I was partway through it. Now that I’ve finished it, I think I appreciate it more than most other readers have. The story was engaging, with two dual mysteries, two dastardly villains, and two dramatic reveals where both villains met their somewhat grisly ends (one involves a crocodile). I wish Hess had brought back more of our favorite characters for a last hurrah, particularly Evelyn, but overall I think she did a really solid job.
To be honest, the series had tapered off a bit ever since Ramses and Nefret finally got together. The mysteries followed the same cadence each time, and with Sethos being a good guy and no real romantic tension left to explore, the characters felt reassuringly familiar but not particularly interesting (the mysteries themselves were never the highlight). The Painted Queen is set before Ramses/Nefret reconciled and Sethos left behind his villainous ways (and his true identity was revealed), but it didn’t quite recapture the old excitement. I wish there had been more scenes from Manuscript H with Ramses and Nefret sharing page time; that most of all feels like a squandered opportunity. Still, The Painted Queen matches some of the later Peters books in quality. Fun fact: this book actually references Napoleon’s expedition and the savants briefly!
