7 incredible books on Ancient Egypt
Looking for the best books on Ancient Egypt? Here’s our curated reading list – from beginner-friendly texts to academic classics and engrossing novels.
Image: University House Alexandria Library | Alexanderstock23 / Shutterstock.com
Few civilisations have captured the modern public imagination like Ancient Egypt. It’s thought to have lasted for over 3,000 years, from around 3150 BC to 30 BC, and many of its rulers have become immortal icons.
The era has also inspired countless books, from academic texts to novels. So, which are the best books on Ancient Egypt?
It’s obviously a subjective judgement, and very much depends on what kind of thing you’re looking for. That’s why we at Sky HISTORY have decided to highlight our own favourites – both fiction and non-fiction.
The best non-fiction books on Ancient Egypt
The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt
Ian Shaw is a leading authority on Ancient Egypt. As the editor of The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, he’s compiled chapters penned by a range of respected Egyptologists.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive, reliable overview of the age, you’ll struggle to find one better than this. It even goes into the Ancient Egyptian prehistory dating as far back as around 700,000 BC. It’s especially worth keeping on your bookshelf if you’re studying Ancient Egypt at Masters or PhD level.
Cleopatra: A Life
When reading about a period as vast as Ancient Egypt, it’s good to start with a book that gives a general overview. Further below, we recommend the best books on Ancient Egypt for beginners.
Once you’ve honed your knowledge with those books, though, you might want to pick up Stacy Schiff’s Cleopatra: A Life.
Cleopatra VII is one of Ancient Egypt’s best-known but also most misunderstood pharaohs. In this biography, Pulitzer Prize winner Schiff peels back layers of mythology to reveal a ruler whose political nous has too often been underestimated.
The best fiction books on Ancient Egypt
The Egyptologist
Do you have fantasies of travelling to Egypt to explore the pyramids, study hieroglyphs and go looking for tombs? If so, you’ll likely be able to relate to the protagonist’s plight in this Arthur Phillips novel.
It follows an Oxford-educated Egyptologist as he strives to unravel an Ancient Egyptian mystery. The story is set in the early 1920s, and references the historic moment when real-life explorer Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Nerfertiti
Historical fiction writer Michelle Moran has written a whole collection of engrossing novels set in Ancient Egypt. They are so rich in evocative, authentic detail that you could feel as though you’re genuinely stepping in the royal temples of the time.
Moran’s novel Nefertiti is based on the reign of the actual Egyptian queen of the same name. As the title character fights to maintain her grip on power amidst political unrest, her younger sister Mutnodjmet faces a more personal struggle.
The best books on Ancient Egypt for beginners
A Short History of Ancient Egypt
We all have our own favourite historical eras – and right now, you might be merely curious about Ancient Egypt rather than engrossed by it. That’s fine, but you need a book to suit. T. G. H. James’ A Short History of Ancient Egypt is that book.
It gets straight to the point, going through successive Egyptian dynasties as well as religious and cultural practices they promoted. The author, a former British Museum curator, squeezes plenty of accurate detail into just 168 pages.
Egyptian Myth: A Very Short Introduction
One issue when studying an age as distant as Ancient Egypt is that you can never be certain exactly how many of its oft-told stories are factual. In many ways, though, the mythical nature of these tales can make them even more intriguing.
For example, it’s fun to read about how they were passed down and reimagined from one generation to another. Geraldine Pinch touches on these subjects in Egyptian Myth: A Very Short Introduction, which you can trust not to overwhelm you with excessive detail.
Ancient Egypt: The Definitive Visual History
Would you consider yourself more of a visual learner? In other words, someone who tends to learn more easily from imagery than words? Here’s one of the best books on Ancient Egypt for visual learners…
Written under the DK Classic History brand, it’s packed with photos and maps supporting the wonderfully detailed, informative text. There’s a staggering range of themes covered within the 320 pages – art, religion, medicine…you get the gist.
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