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| The Keys of Egypt |
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The Keys of Egypt was published in the UK and US in 2000 by
HarperCollins and in paperback in 2001.
Translated editions have so far been published in the Netherlands (by
Kosmos-Z&K) as Egypte Ontraadseld, in Italy (by Piemme) as Le Chiavi dell'
Egitto, in Spain (by Debate) as Las Claves de Egipto, in Germany as Der Code
Der Pharaonen (by Lübbe), in Sweden as Egyptens Nycklar (by Wahlström &
Widstrand), in Norway as Nøklene Til Egypt (by Cappelen), in Japan as Rozetta
Suton Kaidoku (by Shinchosha), in Austria as Der Code der Pharaonen (by Tosa)
and in Taiwan by Owl Publishing. It is currently being translated into Korean.
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The book tells the true story of the early nineteenth-century race to decipher
Egyptian hieroglyphs and how it came to obsess the brilliant French scholar
Jean-François Champollion, whose painstaking work finally solved the mystery of
the hieroglyphs. He faced bitter academic and political opposition, at a time
when France was often in turmoil with the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.
His greatest rival was Thomas Young, the exceptionally gifted scientist and
physician. Champollion's discoveries started a process which revealed the
incredible history of ancient Egypt.
The Keys of Egypt was a fascinating book to research and write, with so
many different strands – the struggle to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs and the
rediscovery of ancient Egypt intertwined with the very different lives of
Champollion and Young, the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon, the turbulent
political situation in France, and expeditions through Italy and Egypt. The
drama of the story far exceeded our expectations, a story that is at times
desperately sad, exciting and exultant, but also – we hope – informative. We
are delighted that so many people seem to be enjoying the book and that it has
received such wonderful reviews.
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The house at 28 rue Mazarine, where Jean-François Champollion lived and carried
on his research into hieroglyphs, was less than 200 yards from the Institute of
France where his brother Jacques-Joseph had his office. Towards midday on 14
September 1822, Champollion covered the distance in the shortest time possible.
Clutching his papers, notes and drawings, he fled along the narrow, gloomy
street, around the corner and into the Institute. Not fully recovered from his
latest spell of ill-health and at the highest pitch of excitement, he was
already breathless as he burst into his brother's office, flung his papers on
to a desk and shouted 'Je tiens l'affaire!' ('I've found it!'). Working since
early morning on the latest drawings of inscriptions from Abu Simbel, he had at
last seen the system underlying the seemingly unintelligible Egyptian
hieroglyphs, and it was now only a matter of time before he would be able to
read any hieroglyphic text. He began to explain to Jacques-Joseph what he had
discovered, but only managed a few words before collapsing unconscious on the
floor. For a few moments his brother feared he was dead....
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The Beginning of Time
Chapter 1 - The Land of Egypt
Chapter 2 - The Pupil
Chapter 3 - The City
Chapter 4 - The Teacher
Chapter 5 - The Physician
Chapter 6 - Cleopatra
Chapter 7 - An Acquaintance of the King
Chapter 8 - Master of Secrets
Chapter 9 - The Translator
Chapter 10 - ....Who Gave Words and Script
Further Reading
Index
We recently discovered that Kate Mosse has included The Keys of Egypt in her selected
further reading at the back of her hugely successful novel, Labyrinth. We therefore
decided to make time to read her book and were astonished to find (on p.100 of our copy)
four lines of hieroglyphs alongside the following words:
In the beginning of time
In the land of Egypt
The master of secrets
Gave words and script
As you can see, these tally with four of our chapter headings (and in our own book, too,
we give the hieroglyphs as well). The theme of the book is a search for the grail, and
Egyptian hieroglyphs are one of the keys to that search. Also, one of the main characters
is an old man who has done many things in his long life, including writing an acclaimed
biography of Jean-François Champollion, the man who deciphered the hieroglyphs, whose story
is told in The Keys of Egypt.
We are, of course, thrilled that Kate Mosse used our biography of Champollion as a key element
of Labyrinth, and it was thoughtful of her to acknowledge the works of non-fiction that helped
to inspire her novel. We just hope that her character of the old man who wrote a biography of
Champollion wasn’t based on us, as we are not (yet) that old – although some days we feel that way!
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| | 'Lesley and Roy Adkins have produced a fascinating account of Champollion's triumph over adversity in the race to unlock the language of the pharoahs. It is a gripping story, which does justice to the man, who more than anyone, opened up the Valley Of The Kings. It will be widely read and is of particular interest to all Egyptologists.' ['Egypt Online' (Egyptian State Information Service Website), September 2002]
| | 'A thrilling account of the race to understand hieroglyphs following Napoleon's invasion of Egypt' [Paul Lay, BBC History Magazine, November 2004]
| | 'a fascinating account of Champollion's triumph over adversity in the race to unlock the lost language of the pharaohs. It is a gripping story... it will be widely read'. [Peter Weston in Western Daily Press]
| | 'Champollion was a kind of Columbus who sailed into antiquity and brought back treasures that reawakened the memory of mankind. Just how he did it is laid out lucidly in this thrilling account.' [Michael Browning in Palm Beach Post]
| | 'The Keys of Egypt... is a riveting account of the race to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs'. [Maggie McDonald in The New Scientist]
| | 'The story of Champollion's unveiling of the mystery of the hieroglyphs, achieved in the face of ill-health, poverty, political turmoil and the machinations of rival scholars, is fascinating, and the Adkinses tell it with page-turning zest'. [Nick Rennison in The Sunday Times]
| | 'This volume provides a thrilling account of the race to decipher hieroglyphics, and a gripping biography of Champollion, who got there first'. [Charles Osborne in the Sunday Telegraph]
| | 'The Keys of Egypt reads like a gripping detective story'. [Lori-Ann Foley in the Jersey Evening Post]
| | 'This is narrative history at its beguiling best.... An enterprising television or film producer would do well to read this book. That is, if the rights haven't already been sold!' [Steve Snelling in the Eastern Daily Press]
| | 'The authors have done great service to Champollion. Their biography is graphic, gripping and a great read'. [Christine Barker in the Birmingham Post]
| | 'What they have done is to produce an admirably lucid introduction to the decipherment of hieroglyphs. Writing up intellectual rather than physical adventure in an exciting way is always a stern test for a writer and the co-authors have done particularly well'. [Frank McLynn in the Irish Times]
| | 'A taut story of 19th-century scholarly research by husband-and-wife archaeologists, with lashes of intrigue and scandal thrown in for good measure.... The authors know their Egyptology, and in them Champollion has found worthy champions. Their highly readable account will be of wide interest to students of ancient history and cryptology - and to anyone who enjoys a bookish detective story'. [Kirkus Reviews]
| | 'Lesley and Roy Adkins have written a classic detective story'. [Philip Marsden in The Mail on Sunday]
| | 'This book.... organises a huge mass of historical detail into a masterly narrative, making the intricacies of such information easily accessible to the general reader'. [Dr Richard Parkinson in the Times Higher Educational Supplement]
| | 'A fascinating account.... The Keys of Egypt - always readable and enjoyable - is a worthy tribute to the man who named, and unlocked, the Valley of the Kings'. [Giles Milton in the Daily Mail]
| | ‘A first-rate blend of high scholarship and great narrative pace, this is one of those rare, wondrous books which turns an intellectual adventure into high drama. It deserves a huge audience’. [Douglas Kennedy in The Times]
| | 'A ripping tale of obsession and rivalry.... fascinating and elegantly written’ [Simon Singh in The Sunday Telegraph] |
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