Writings from Ancient Egypt

Until now few people beyond specialists have been able to read the texts, many of them inaccessible within tombs … hieroglyphs were pictures but they conveyed concepts in as sophisticated a manner as Greek or Latin script, [Toby Wilkinson] said. Filled with metaphor and symbolism, they reveal life through the eyes of the ancient Egyptians. Tales of shipwreck and wonder, first-hand descriptions of battles and natural disasters, songs and satires make up the anthology. – Dalya Alberge * The Guardian *This book offers a taste of the vast body of ancient Egyptian literature. In addition to glamorous accounts of war and royalty, it’s packed with extraordinarily personal tales of life and the social anxieties of the time. – Caitlin Hu * Quartz *

Toby Wilkinson is a Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge. He has written a number of major books on Ancient Egypt, most recently The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, which won the Hessell-Tiltman prize. He has excavated at the Egyptian sites of Buto and Memphis.