Page 73 - Egypt & the Eternal Nile by Private, Classic River-Yacht

RESOURCES

Suggested Readings

Egypt

Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer (Literature). A controversial and spicy novel about life,
death, and re-incarnation in Pharonic Egypt. Mailer’s complex writing style seems to divide
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Chronicle of the Pharaohs by Peter A. Clayton (History). An illustrated biography of the pharaohs;
this book will help you to sort out who’s who in ancient Egypt.

Death on the Nile and Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie (Mysteries). Agatha Christie
lived in Syria and the Middle East with her archaeologist husband Max Brown in the 1930s, the
source for many of her wildly popular mysteries.

/ZbY _SP 9TWP% ,WZYP TY L 1T^SP]XLYɪ^ >VTʬ by Rosemary Mahoney (Travelogue). Mahoney weaves
the tale of her quest to row the Nile with deft portraits of the people she meets, particularly
Amr, the sailor who takes her under his wing, and astute comments on contemporary Egypt.

Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive and Clea by Lawrence Durrell (Literature). Known collectively
as The Alexandria Quartet, the author uses WWII Alexandria as a grand backdrop for the grand
stories of a group of Europeans living in Egypt. If four books seem too much to start with, try
_SP ʭ]^_ ZQ _SP ^P]TP^ Justine.

Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz (Literature). Commonly
referred to as the “Cairo Trilogy”, these are the three most famous works (out of 40) by the
Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author. Often compared to Balzac, his novels provide insight
into life in Egypt.

Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs by Barbara Mertz (History). An updated classic history of
ancient Egypt by the author of the Amelia Peabody mysteries (her pen name is Elizabeth
Peters). Mertz’s great enthusiasm and scholarship brings ancient Egypt to life for the
general reader.

The Egyptologist: A Novel by Arthur Phillips (Literature). A clever historical novel set against the
backdrop of 1920s Egyptian archaeology.

The Mummy Case, He Shall Thunder in the Sky, and A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters
(Mysteries). Just a few of the titles in the popular series featuring intrepid sleuth Amelia
Peabody, an archeologist who can’t help getting embroiled in murder.

The Search for Cleopatra by Michael Foss (History). Historian Michael Foss blends detailed
scholarship with compelling storytelling to bring alive the colorful personality and life of
Egypt’s extraordinary queen (69-30 B.C.). Travelers interested in Cleopatra may also want
to look for the National Geographic Society’s .WPZ[L_]L% ?SP >PL]NS QZ] _SP 7L^_ <`PPY ZQ 0Rd[_ by
Zahi Hawas, a noted Egyptologist and author.

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