Novels set in Ancient Egypt?

[Plumadona]

Can anyone recommend some novels set in ancient Egypt? Any genre would do, including thrillers. These books would be for my mom, a lifelong Ancient Egypt buff. She's in her mid-eighties and I'd like to encourage her to read more in order to keep her mind more active. She has a great many history books, but novels would be something new for her. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! TIA.

Plumadona

[AlbertaCowboy]

Originally Posted by Plumadona

Can anyone recommend some novels set in ancient Egypt? Any genre would do, including thrillers. These books would be for my mom, a lifelong Ancient Egypt buff. She's in her mid-eighties and I'd like to encourage her to read more in order to keep her mind more active. She has a great many history books, but novels would be something new for her. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! TIA.

Plumadona

Wilbur Smith has a whole series of novels set in Ancient Egypt, but as I have never read them, I can't recommend them as such. From what I've heard, they're pretty risque.

[AnemicOak]

I don't think I've ever read any fiction set in ancient Egypt so can't recommend anything, but this list on Goodreads might be of help...

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4..._Ancient_Egypt

[ATDrake]

It's been a long while since I read them, but I recall Judith Tarr's assorted books set in Ancient Egypt (she had an historical novel about Hatshepsut, and some other mystery and drama novels as well), and Pauline Gedge's historical saga novels (including another Hatshepsut novel) as being quite good and well-researched (Tarr herself is an historian by training, though in Medieval Studies). These are two of my favourite authors, though more for their other books than the Egypt stuff.

Both are available as ebooks: Gedge's through HarperCollins, and you can get some of Tarr's backlist DRM-free from the Book View Café author re-publishing consortium. (And it appears she could probably use the money, having run into financial difficulties in recent months, with her only current source of income from her writing royalties.)

Agatha Christie also wrote a well-regarded murder mystery set in Ancient Egypt, Death Comes as the End, which I bought years ago as part of a sale, but haven't gotten around to reading myself, though we've enough Christie aficionados on these forums that someone should be able to tell you more about it.

[Doitsu]

@Plumadona: Ask you mom whether she's already read The Egyptian by Mika Waltari. Apparently it was quite popular in the 1950s and was even made into a Hollywood movie.

[Plumadona]

Thanks to everyone who's responded so far; I'll start tracking them down. Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks! ��

[cromag]

You might try the "Huy the scribe" series, by Anton Gill. They appear to be fairly accurate, as far as I can tell. They're mysteries, but more on the "detective" end of the spectrum. I've read and enjoyed most of the books in the series and expect to read more.

The list at Goodreads is a bit out of date. I think there are currently five books in the series.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/418...yptian-mystery

[MickiTee]

You could have a look at Christian Jacq. Fantastic Fiction (https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/christian-jacq/) lists 5 or 6 series of historical novel plus some stand alones.
You didn't say what format your mother reads her books in, but they don't appear to be available as ebooks in English.

[pwalker8]

One of my favorites was Shadow Hawk by Andre Norton. I don't think it's available as an ebook though.

[svenlind]

Originally Posted by AlbertaCowboy

Wilbur Smith has a whole series of novels set in Ancient Egypt, but as I have never read them, I can't recommend them as such. From what I've heard, they're pretty risque.

I have read Wilbur Smith's River God and will certainly recommend it. There are sequels to the book.

Maybe she will also like The Sunbird also by Wilbur Smith.

[mbovenka]

+1 for Wilbur Smith. There are few that do sweeping historical epics as well as he does (James Michener comes to mind, but I don't think he did anything based in ancient Egypt).

[mbovenka]

Not set in ancient Egypt, but written by an Egyptologist (Barbara Metz, as Elizabeth Peters), set in turn-of-the-century (the 20th, that is ) Egypt and with an Egyptologist protagonist: the Amelia Peabody mysteries.

I have read the entire series, and enjoyed them.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mbovenka

+1 for Wilbur Smith. There are few that do sweeping historical epics as well as he does (James Michener comes to mind, but I don't think he did anything based in ancient Egypt).

A warning: the first two novels in Wilbur Smith's "Egypt" series: "River God" and "The Seventh Scroll", are excellent. Many years later he wrote three more: "Warlock", "The Quest", and "Desert God". These are simply dreadful, and should be avoided at all costs.

Another excellent one is Agatha Christie's "Death Comes As the End", a detective novel set in Ancient Egypt. This is very good indeed.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mbovenka

Not set in ancient Egypt, but written by an Egyptologist (Barbara Metz, as Elizabeth Peters), set in turn-of-the-century (the 20th, that is ) Egypt and with an Egyptologist protagonist: the Amelia Peabody mysteries.

I have read the entire series, and enjoyed them.

Yes, these are wonderful.

[Hampshire Nanny]

You might enjoy the Lieutenant Bak mysteries by Lauren Haney. The first book is The Right Hand of Amon.

It is the eighteenth dynasty of Queen Maatkare Hatshepsut, divine ruler of a sun-seared realm. And blood flows as freely as the great, winding Nile that nourishes this ancient land of intrigue and danger.

Lieutenant Bak is a loyal servant of the royal house of Egypt--commander of the Medjay police in the frontier fortress city of Buhen. A man of honor and ability, it is he who must oversee the corps assigned to accompany the golden idol, the god Amon, on its journey up the Nile to heal the ailing son of a powerful tribal king. But the mighty river has yielded up a sinister "treasure": the body of a brave soldier horrifically slain for reasons unknown. And only the drawings of a missing mute boy can help Bak unravel the mystery of the officer's foul death--before it leads to far greater crimes that could imperil an empire.