Tales from Ancient Egypt

One of the many novels I've read by Joyce A. Tyldesley over the last 15 months.

I class myself to be very lucky as I've been to the "Land of the Pharaohs" back in the 1990's and seen their great temples and places of worship. If you have ever been able to go there you'll know what I mean about them being an advanced civilisation with everything they built and what tool they had to use to do it with. I'm studying Egyptology with Exeter University and I'm in my second year.

It's a great book for people who just want to learn about the Egyptian people and their every day lives.

Well done Joyce, I love your novels keep up the fantastic work. :-)

That Book you just had to have… (9/9 people found this helpful)

Joyce has written a similar book to this for younger readers titled ‘Stories from Ancient Egypt’ and that introduces junior Egyptologists to ancient Gods and Kings. That book plugged a gap in the market for a readable book that helped younger minds come to terms with concepts such as ‘how it all began’ and the battles between the main players such as Seth and Horus. The author has written this ‘adult version’ for those of us who need a little help better understanding the creation myth and other ancient tales.

The book has four main sections, Four Tales of Gods, Seven Tales of Men, Four True Stories and One Hymn. The key area for me was section one that includes the Creation of the World, the Destruction of Mankind, The Tale of Isis and Osiris and the Dispute of Horus and Seth. The author provides a no-nonsense commentary on the tales and helps you to understand the context of the story, the time period and the underlying messages.

Section two includes five magical Tales, The Shipwrecked Sailor, The Talkative Peasant, The Story of Sinuhe, The Doomed Prince, The Two Brothers and The Tales of Truth and Falsehood.

Section three has four true stories including the Adventures of Harkhuf, The Siege of Megiddo, The Battle of Kadesh and The Voyage of Wenamen. Several readers will be familiar with the Battle of Kadesh and Siege of Megiddo because they lodge in the mind as great military moments, however the other two stories are less familiar but intriguing.

The last tale, in fact a Hymn is the Great Hymn to the Aten. My only suggested improvement to this book is that I would have liked more commentary on the ‘Great Hymn to the Aten’. The Amarna period and just about everything associated with it is popular with several budding Egyptologists and I would put the ‘Great Hymn to the Aten’ as an aspect worthy of a touch more discussion.

I would recommend this book to anyone enthusiastic on ancient Egypt on the basis of section one alone, the creation of the world and associated myths.

I love this book! (6/7 people found this helpful)

Even if it wasn't about ancient egypt (which i luurve) this would be a great read because the stories themselves are so exciting. Love stories, magical fairy tales, evil deeds punished and good triumphing in the end, strange travellers tales and Rameses II - what more could you want!

Each story also comes with a short piece by the author explaining any obscure bits of the stories. There is also a good introduction at the beginning of the book, so the whole thing is a good introduction to egyptian culture for the beginner as well as plenty to entertain the more knowledgable.

An eye-opener for a non-egyptologist (7/8 people found this helpful)

As a teacher of comparative literature I don't have a specialist interest in Egyptology, but I am fascinated by tale-telling from all parts of the world and at all periods.

I came across 'Tales from Ancient Egypt' quite by accident and am thrilled I did. I had not realised the sheer range of fictional narrative created by the ancient egyptians, nor the ways in which they wrote about themselves in factual (or semi-factual!) terms. From now on I shall think of them as not just builders of pyramids but engaging and interesting writers in their own right.

I also found Joyce Tyldsley's writing style witty and engaging - she appears to me to be a superb interpreter of these ancient texts. Bravo!

This was an absorbing and entertaining read for me personally, and a book I plan to use with my adult education classes next year.

Informative and Charming (11/11 people found this helpful)

As someone who has collected all of Joyce Tyldesley's marvellous biographies of ancient Egyptian rulers, and is also a fan of her recent 'Pyramids' book, I was both surprised and delighted by this new offering from the doyenne of Egyptology writers.

'Tales from Ancient Egypt' is a retelling of many of the most entertaining and interesting stories (both fact and fiction) from Ancient Egypt. Because these are not slavish translations of the ancient texts, but an interpretation for the modern reader by an author with a sensitive understanding of those texts, and a lively use of modern English, 'Tales' is great fun.

Each 'Tale' is also followed by a short explanation which helps the modern reader to understand any obscure parts of the ancient story.

All in all a thoroughly entertaining read - an excellent introduction to Egyptian literature for the newcomer and a new look at some well-known stories for old Egypt hands like myself.

Joyce Tyldesley

Reader Reviews:

Excellent (2/3 people found this helpful)

That Book you just had to have… (9/9 people found this helpful)

I love this book! (6/7 people found this helpful)

An eye-opener for a non-egyptologist (7/8 people found this helpful)

Informative and Charming (11/11 people found this helpful)

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