Here are 100 books that The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt fans have personally recommended if you like
The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt.
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I’m a spiritual mutt. Raised with a variegated Christian background (Mom Charismatic, Dad Quaker, Grandparents Wesleyan), I rejected all things biblical and turned to Jack Daniels for Southern Comfort. In college I reconnected with a high school friend who demonstrated God was real by his changed life and showed the Bible’s concrete historical connections in a way I could understand. The words that had so confounded me as a child began to make sense. I dumped Jack Daniels, married that friend, and no longer needed Southern Comfort. Now, through research, study, and a little imagination, I write biblical novels, chug Living Water, and tell Bible stories to eight grandkids.
I always start my research at a library. I find the shelves on Egyptian history, grab a stack of books, plop down on the floor, and read until I can’t feel my legs. There’s never a shortage of Egyptology resources, but why must the scholars always disagree? Only by reading widely can I find a golden thread of agreement across the many sources. Oftentimes, a particular scholar will emerge as the leading expert on a particular time period and appear in a majority of quoted material and/or bibliographies. The Oxford History of Ancient Egyptwas both easy to understand and included interesting details while also following the consensus of the best New Kingdom scholars.
The essays and illustrations in this history portray the emergence and development of the distinctive civilization of the ancient Egyptians, from their prehistoric origins to their incorporation into the Roman Empire, covering the period from around 7000 BCE to 311. The authors outline the principal sequence of political events, including detailed examinations of the three so-called "intermediate periods" which were previously regarded as "dark ages" and are only now beginning to be better understood. Against the backdrop of the rise and fall of ruling dynasties, this book also examines cultural and social patterns, including stylistic developments in art and literature.…
I’m a spiritual mutt. Raised with a variegated Christian background (Mom Charismatic, Dad Quaker, Grandparents Wesleyan), I rejected all things biblical and turned to Jack Daniels for Southern Comfort. In college I reconnected with a high school friend who demonstrated God was real by his changed life and showed the Bible’s concrete historical connections in a way I could understand. The words that had so confounded me as a child began to make sense. I dumped Jack Daniels, married that friend, and no longer needed Southern Comfort. Now, through research, study, and a little imagination, I write biblical novels, chug Living Water, and tell Bible stories to eight grandkids.
Because I planned to write a second book about Moses, understanding the science behind the biblical plagues was important to approximate the timeline for both Moses’s return to Egypt (from exile in Midian) and to determine the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Humphreys is a scientist who gives fascinating and feasible explanations for every one of the ten plagues mentioned in the Bible; however, he in no way discounts their supernatural origin. This book, perhaps more than any other I’ve read, helped illustrate that God always allows room for doubt—as was evidenced by using scientifically viable reasons for the plagues. But He invites us to see His miracles and believe.
Did the Red Sea really part before the Israelites? Why didn't the fire consume the Burning Bush? What was the Manna in the Wilderness? The Miracles of Exodus explores the truth about these and all the other Exodus mysteries, including the precise locations of the Red Sea Crossing and the route of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt 3,000 years ago. This investigative tour de force explains the Ten Plagues, the true location of Mount Sinai, the ultimate crossing of the Jordan and much more. Colin Humphreys, a distinguished British scientist, uses physics, astronomy, biology and other scientific resources…
I’m a spiritual mutt. Raised with a variegated Christian background (Mom Charismatic, Dad Quaker, Grandparents Wesleyan), I rejected all things biblical and turned to Jack Daniels for Southern Comfort. In college I reconnected with a high school friend who demonstrated God was real by his changed life and showed the Bible’s concrete historical connections in a way I could understand. The words that had so confounded me as a child began to make sense. I dumped Jack Daniels, married that friend, and no longer needed Southern Comfort. Now, through research, study, and a little imagination, I write biblical novels, chug Living Water, and tell Bible stories to eight grandkids.
When I started writing biblical historical fiction in the early 2000s, I found only one or two novels about Moses. Shadow Women was especially helpful because it spanned Moses’s whole life, which meant it also encompassed the biblical narrative from Exodus to Deuteronomy. It was like Cliff Notes for four Books of the Bible! As my writing friendships have expanded over the past two decades, I’ve come to know Angela Hunt personally and discovered that she holds a PhD in Biblical Studies, which gives me even more confidence in the historical and biblical accuracy of her many biblical novels. She continues to be one of my favorite authors.
The three main women in Moses's life narrate his dramatic story from their perspectives. Miryam, his seven-year-old sister, and Merytamon, his 14-year-old adoptive mother, cover his early years as an Egyptian prince. Nine-year-old Zipporah, his future wife, tells of Moses' time with her father, a priest, and their family. After God reveals himself to Moses, Miryam recounts the liberation of the Jewish people and their escape from Egypt, and Zipporah and Miryam recall the years in the wilderness. The animosity and jealousy Miryam feels for both Merytomon and Zipporah flood the narrative, poisoning their happiness, but Moses…
I’m a spiritual mutt. Raised with a variegated Christian background (Mom Charismatic, Dad Quaker, Grandparents Wesleyan), I rejected all things biblical and turned to Jack Daniels for Southern Comfort. In college I reconnected with a high school friend who demonstrated God was real by his changed life and showed the Bible’s concrete historical connections in a way I could understand. The words that had so confounded me as a child began to make sense. I dumped Jack Daniels, married that friend, and no longer needed Southern Comfort. Now, through research, study, and a little imagination, I write biblical novels, chug Living Water, and tell Bible stories to eight grandkids.
I love biblical historical fiction because there are so many ways to write it. Some write about specific biblical characters, while others—like Connilyn Cossette—write about biblical events and then create fictional characters who become swept up in actual historical events. I’m also completely captured by Cossette’s romantic threads. She expertly hooks my heart into a series by choosing a minor character from the first story and making me care deeply for that hero/heroine by page three of the next book. Her irresistible characters and settings embody the dust, heat, and hardships of Egypt, and the tender romances linger in my memory for years.
A Story of Love, Desperation, and Hope During a Great Biblical Epoch Sold into slavery by her father and forsaken by the man she was supposed to marry, young Egyptian Kiya must serve a mistress who takes pleasure in her humiliation. When terrifying plagues strike Egypt, Kiya is in the middle of it all. To save her older brother and escape the bonds of slavery, Kiya flees with the Hebrews during the Great Exodus. She finds herself utterly dependent on a fearsome God she's only just beginning to learn about, and in love with a man who despises her people.…
A longtime traveler and lifelong fan of epic fantasy and historical fiction, I’m fascinated by the crossroads where these two genres meet. My novels and short stories always keep a foot (or two) in both of these realms. For anyone who has ever climbed the Pyramid of the Magician, or wandered the Black Forest, or gazed upon the Roman aqueducts (or maybe just thought about an old house on a forgotten hill) and wondered, “What would it have been like if?” I think you’ll enjoy the books on this list.
A traveling physician, Sinuhe, bears witness to a time of religious turmoil in ancient Egypt. The clash between the “mad” Pharaoh Akhenaten’s new monotheistic faith and the traditional pantheon of Egypt’s deities sweeps Sinuhe into the throes of war and politics. An epic in the truest sense, yet this sweeping story never spares on the granular details of everyday life under the pharaohs; one can almost feel the hot sun and smell the fertile banks of the Nile through the pages. The Egyptian might very well be the perfect historical fiction novel (one that was later turned into an academy award nominated movie). Though it is no longer in print, this book is well worth the effort to track down a copy.
First published in the 1940s and widely condemned as obscene, The Egyptian outsold every other American novel published that same year, and remains a classic; readers worldwide have testified to its life-changing power. It is a full-bodied re-creation of a largely forgotten era in the world’s history: an Egypt when pharaohs contended with the near-collapse of history’s greatest empire. This epic tale encompasses the whole of the then-known world, from Babylon to Crete, from Thebes to Jerusalem, while centering around one unforgettable figure: Sinuhe, a man of mysterious origins who rises from the depths of degradation to get close to…
I’m an archaeologist by training and a journalist by profession. During my long career as a staff writer at National Geographic magazine, and now as a freelance Nat Geo book editor and author, I have often written about the ancient world and cultural heritage preservation. I was very lucky to be sent to Egypt on a number of occasions to write stories about sites and discoveries, and I have now come to specialize in Egyptology. I recently took an online course that taught me how to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. I’m still in glyph kindergarten, but every new sign I learn is allowing me to better understand—and interpret—the culture of the pharaohs.
The dates that Egyptologists use for most rulers are guesstimates, and there’s not one fixed dating scheme.
Just for instance, one reference volume gives 1334-1325 B.C. as the dates for King Tut’s reign. Another says 1332-1322 B.C. And yet a third another has 1336-1327 B.C.
How do you know which one to believe?
During the three decades I worked as a staff writer at National Geographic magazine, we relied on the king list that Baines and Malek published in this book.
I still consider it as the last word on dates for my own research. It’s also full of very helpful maps, diagrams, and descriptions of archaeological sites all over Egypt.
Filled with fascinating facts and stunning images, this single-volume reference to ancient Egypt introduces readers to this unique, sometimes startling culture.
I’m an archaeologist by training and a journalist by profession. During my long career as a staff writer at National Geographic magazine, and now as a freelance Nat Geo book editor and author, I have often written about the ancient world and cultural heritage preservation. I was very lucky to be sent to Egypt on a number of occasions to write stories about sites and discoveries, and I have now come to specialize in Egyptology. I recently took an online course that taught me how to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. I’m still in glyph kindergarten, but every new sign I learn is allowing me to better understand—and interpret—the culture of the pharaohs.
The history of ancient Egypt spans more than 3,000 years. That’s a lot to keep track of!
This book is a great guide, breaking it all down dynasty by dynasty and reign by reign.
Want to know what the Old Kingdom was about? It’s in here.
Want to know all of King Tut’s names? They’re in here too, spelled out for modern readers and drawn in hieroglyphs as well.
I’ve been studying and writing about ancient Egypt for decades now, and I still need a cheat sheet from time to time. Chronicle of the Pharaohs is one of my go-to reference books and sits on a shelf close at hand in my office.
Having first discovered the mystery of ancient Egypt as a small child via my father’s war-time souvenirs, this interest grew over the years until it became a serious magical under-taking, culminating in Initiation into the magical order of the Temple of Khem. I became Principal tutor of the Order in 1998 and publishedLiber Ægyptius: The Book of Egyptian Magic in the same year. I continue to teach the Egyptian Mystery Tradition to those willing to submit themselves to the exacting discipline needed to enter the priesthood, and remain a member of the Egypt Exploration Society to keep up-to-date with the current archaeological discoveries in Egypt.
Firstly, because the authors are known to me as highly respected magical practitioners and, second, because using the Nile to represent the river of consciousness it offers up a comprehensive system for inner development not seen before. The Inner Guide to Egypt takes us on a voyage of discovery that never ends because its images keep popping into our imagination, long after we’ve put the book down. It was originally published by Thoth Publications (1991) and currently by Llewellyn (2010) but its appeal has never diminished for true seekers after the Egyptian Mystery Tradition.
I’m an archaeologist by training and a journalist by profession. During my long career as a staff writer at National Geographic magazine, and now as a freelance Nat Geo book editor and author, I have often written about the ancient world and cultural heritage preservation. I was very lucky to be sent to Egypt on a number of occasions to write stories about sites and discoveries, and I have now come to specialize in Egyptology. I recently took an online course that taught me how to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. I’m still in glyph kindergarten, but every new sign I learn is allowing me to better understand—and interpret—the culture of the pharaohs.
Want to know about magic bricks? You can look them up in this book, along with a lot of other intriguing things.
Sure, you can find descriptions online. But there’s a lot of misinformation out there in the e-sphere. It’s much better to rely on something published by the august British Museum, which has been showcasing artifacts from the ancient world since 1753. I always do.
This successful and highly-esteemed British Museum reference work is now republished in a new pocket-sized edition. This authoritative illustrated dictionary provides clear explanations and descriptions of the important ideas, events and personalities throughout four thousand years of Egyptian civilization. More than 600 extensively cross-referenced and comprehensively-indexed A-Z entries provide detailed information on all aspects of ancient Egypt and Nubia during the pharaonic and Graeco-Roman periods. Each entry is followed by a bibliography. The dictionary is lavishly illustrated throughout with photographs, line drawings, site plans and maps.
I’ve been fascinated by ancient Egypt since I was ten. I started my first project in Luxor, Egypt, when I was 21, and for the last 35+ years, these projects have uncovered the stories of Theban tomb owners and the times in which they lived. For this reason, I’ve chosen some of the most accessible books on ancient Egyptian tombs and their decoration. I hope that these books will excite you about the humanity of those who lived thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt.
This massive 540-page book offers the reader everything to know about ancient Egypt. A group of international experts wrote Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs, which covers funerary art, tomb architecture, sculpture, and painting in an easy-to-read, lavishly illustrated book. Additional chapters explore ancient Egyptian history, culture, and religion. Appendixes include lists of gods, sites, museum collections, and a chronology with names of rulers. Numerous printings in hardback and softcover cover the same territory at an incredibly low cost—an indispensable volume and a required book in my classes.
This beautifully illustrated hardback edition explores all the magic and mysteries of ancient Egypt that continue to fascinate us, in over 500 pages of full-colour photographs and comprehensive text. It covers everything from architecture, sculpture and painting to everyday life, statecraft, society and religion.
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