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I thought this was a fabulous book (which is why I nominated it). I enjoyed it for many reasons, a few of which I've listed below:
1. Its descriptions of the long-gone world of Victorian travel - a world before mass tourism.
2. The fact that it's about Egypt - probably my favourite place in the world, and one which I know well. It was fascinating to read the descriptions of the Egyptian temples as they were in the mid 19th century (basically half-buried in the sand) and compare that with the way they are now.
3. I very much enjoy the "Amelia Peabody" books of Elizabeth Peters, a character firmly based on that of Amelia Edwards, and I wanted to get to know the original.
4. It's simply a very well-written book, as we should of course expect from a lady who was herself a popular and successful novelist. (If you read my "Christmas Stories" anthology by Charles Dickens, in the MR library, you'll find a number of items in there written by Amelia Edwards.)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I strongly suspect that it wouldn't appeal to everyone. I'd love to hear what other people thought about it.
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