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Valley of the Kings by Cecelia Holland
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Valley of the Kings

by Cecelia Holland

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I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It's historical fiction with a twist. Howard Carter's first-person narrative of his search for Tutankhamun's tomb alternates with a story of life in ancient Egypt during Tutankhamun's reign. Although well researched, in general, I noticed some factual errors, especially in the ancient Egypt saga. I'm not sure, however, how much this has to do with what was known at the time this book was written (1977), versus what we know or believe to be true now. But countering this criticism is the fact it's a novel written for reading enjoyment, not a textbook. "Valley of the Kings" is an interesting, engaging book.

(A side note, the copy I have states the author is Elizabeth Eliot Carter, which is a pseudenym for Cecilia Holland, who is the stated author of other editions.) ( )
  y2pk | Feb 22, 2010 |
A more straightforward story than her other novels and easier to read than some. The 1922 section is fairly exciting in places, though the ancient Egyptian characters never come across as real to me. ( )
  john257hopper | Nov 1, 2009 |
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This book is dedicated to Marion Harvey, for reasons that she alone knows.
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My name is Howard Carter and I am English; I am an Egyptologist.
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Originally published under the pen name of Elizabeth Eliot Carter.
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0312868626, Paperback)

It was a time of religious and political upheaval--the heretic Pharaoh Akhenten's religious reforms had been defeated by the power of the Priests of Amun, and the young boy King, Tutankhamun, had been placed on the throne. There was a famine in the land, and ongoing deadly intrigue in the Court as different factions maneuvered to gain control of Egypt. It ended in the mysterious death of the young king, and his hasty, secret burial.

Nearly thirty-five hundred years later, in the 1920s, a young British archaeologist named Howard Carter becomes obsessed with finding Tutankamun's tomb. But he must struggle with more than the secretive nature of the ancient Egyptians--his world cannot go on without the approval of the modern Egyptian bureaucracy or without continued financial support from the British peer who is looking for treasure more than knowledge.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 03 Jan 2013 18:13:29 -0500)

(see all 2 descriptions)

Cecelia Holland has written an extraordinary novel that ranges between two eras thousands of years apart and between two cultures as different as can be imagined, yet with striking similarities. Valley of the Kings re-creates an ancient Egypt that for centuries has been shrouded in mystery. It was a time of religious and political upheaval - the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten's religious reforms had been defeated by the power of the Priests of Amun, and the young Boy King, Tutankhamun, had been placed on the throne. There was famine in the land, and ongoing deadly intrigue in the Court, as different factions maneuvered to gain control of Egypt. It ended in the mysterious death of the young king and his hasty, secret burial. Nearly thirty-five hundred years later, in the 1920s, a young British archaeologist, Howard Carter, becomes obsessed with finding Tutankhamun's tomb. In the course of his quest, Carter duels across time with the devious. minds of the New Kingdom of Egypt. His experience digging in the Valley of the Kings has given him an insight into how the ancients thought, and he is sure that he can locate the tomb that all Egyptologists know must exist but no one can find. But he must struggle with more than the secretive nature of the ancient Egyptians - his work cannot go on without the approval of the modern Egyptian bureaucracy and the continued financial support of a British peer who is looking. for treasure more than knowledge.… (more)

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