Women in the Valley of the Kings: the untold story of women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age
Description
A GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FINALIST FOR HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY"A new history of Egyptology that prioritizes the women whose contributions, for good and otherwise, shaped the field.” - The New York TimesThe never-before-told story of the women Egyptologists who paved the way who paved the way for exploration in Egypt and laid the groundwork for Egyptology The history of Egyptology is often told as yet one more grand narrative of powerful men striving to seize the day and the precious artifacts for their competing homelands. But that is only half of the story. During the so-called Golden Age of Exploration, there were women working and exploring before Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut. Before men even conceived of claiming the story for themselves, women were working in Egypt to lay the groundwork for all future exploration. In Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age, Kathleen Sheppard brings the untold stories of these women back into this narrative. Sheppard begins with some of the earliest European women who ventured to Egypt as travelers: Amelia Edwards, Jenny Lane, and Marianne Brocklehurst. Their travelogues, diaries and maps chronicled a new world for the curious. In the vast desert, Maggie Benson, the first woman granted permission to excavate in Egypt, met Nettie Gourlay, the woman who became her lifelong companion. They battled issues of oppression and exclusion and, ultimately, are credited with excavating the Temple of Mut. As each woman scored a success in the desert, she set up the women who came later for their own struggles and successes. Emma Andrews’ success as a patron and archaeologist helped to pave the way for Margaret Murray to teach. Margaret’s work in the university led to the artists Amice Calverley’s and Myrtle Broome’s ability to work on site at Abydos, creating brilliant reproductions of tomb art, and to Kate Bradbury’s and Caroline Ransom’s leadership in critical Egyptological institutions. Women in the Valley of the Kings upends the grand male narrative of Egyptian exploration and shows how a group of courageous women charted unknown territory and changed the field of Egyptology forever.
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Published Reviews
Booklist Review
Sheppard joins Lynne Olson, author of Empress of the Nile (2023), in spotlighting the important contributions of female Egyptologists in the late nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth centuries in this striking group biography. The letters from Egypt penned by Victorian writer and translator Lucie Duff Gordon inspired other English women to venture down the Nile, including Amelia Edwards, whose trip to Egypt in 1874 inspired her to write a travelogue as well as create, maintain, and raise money for the Egypt Exploration Society. Maggie Benson and her partner, Nettie Gourlay, oversaw the excavation of the Temple of Mut, while wealthy Emma Andrews took detailed notes of the excavations of temples in the famed Valley of the Kings, acknowledging the important contributions of Egyptians. Margaret Alice Murray made waves by unwrapping an ancient Egyptian mummy in public in Manchester. Still others contributed vital scholarship. Many of the women were partnered romantically as well as professionally, making this a vital, lively read for those interested in LGBTQ+ history as well as in women's essential contributions to the excavation and preservation of ancient Egypt artifacts.
Booklist Reviews
Sheppard joins Lynne Olson, author of Empress of the Nile (2023), in spotlighting the important contributions of female Egyptologists in the late nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth centuries in this striking group biography. The letters from Egypt penned by Victorian writer and translator Lucie Duff Gordon inspired other English women to venture down the Nile, including Amelia Edwards, whose trip to Egypt in 1874 inspired her to write a travelogue as well as create, maintain, and raise money for the Egypt Exploration Society. Maggie Benson and her partner, Nettie Gourlay, oversaw the excavation of the Temple of Mut, while wealthy Emma Andrews took detailed notes of the excavations of temples in the famed Valley of the Kings, acknowledging the important contributions of Egyptians. Margaret Alice Murray made waves by unwrapping an ancient Egyptian mummy in public in Manchester. Still others contributed vital scholarship. Many of the women were partnered romantically as well as professionally, making this a vital, lively read for those interested in LGBTQ+ history as well as in women's essential contributions to the excavation and preservation of ancient Egypt artifacts. Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.
Library Journal Reviews
The famous story of finding King Tut's tomb and the wonders of ancient Egypt is driven by the discoveries of men. Sheppard upends that storyline and introduces the redoubtable women who were there long before Howard Carter and his cohort—women explorers, travelers, and Egyptologists who worked during the Gilded Age and created a circle of expertise that built the field. Prepub Alert. Copyright 2023 Library Journal
Copyright 2024 Library Journal.