This week Linda Rae Sande shares information about the French in Egypt, related to her novel, A Lover in Luxor.
Bonaparte Before the Sphinx by Jean-Leon Gerome
When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, he brought with him (and then abandoned them to stage his coup) 150 scientists, artists, geographers, and linguists. They orchestrated the first massive looting of Egypt, sending off the treasure to the Louvre.
This crew of savants (the word used for scientists back then) made careful drawings and measurements of a large number of ancient structures. Their depictions were so faithful that they preserved inscriptions that have since disappeared due to erosion or exposure to light.
All these surveys were published in La Description de l’Egypte, a 24-volume tome published from 1809 to 1824. Made up of maps, hundreds of copper engravings, and essays describing what they had learned about Egypt, the series of books divided Egypt into ancient and modern times, and launched the modern vision of ancient Egypt as we know it today.
La Description de l’Egypte was extremely popular in Europe. The structures, symbols, and images of ancient Egypt became fashionable features of European art and architecture. Encouraged by Napoleon’s savant expeditions, the European fascination with ancient Egypt gave rise to archaeological museums in Europe, beginning with the Louvre opening the first Egyptian museum in 1827. The British Museum in London began displaying Egyptian artifacts, including the Rosetta Stone, as early as 1803.
You can learn more about Egypt in 1841 in A LOVER IN LUXOR, the third entry in my “The Grand Tours of the Aristocracy” series. It’s available at all book retailers in ebook, paperback, and audiobook. https://books2read.
About the Book
A spare heir on his Grand Tour. The daughter of a naturalist. When their reunion on the Nile seems to suffer a mummy’s curse, she’s determined to learn why.
When Tom Forster set off with his brother and cousins on a Grand Tour, he expected to tour temples and monuments, be humbled in the presence of pyramids and monoliths, and be amazed by the sites beyond the cerulean blue waters of the Mediterranean—including beautiful women. He knows better than to engage with any of them, though. He has already paid witness to his oldest cousin and his brother losing their hearts—and bachelor status—to women they claim are the loves of their lives.
That is, until he sees her—again—this time with a baby.
The daughter of renowned naturalist Earl of Everly, Lady Helen has spent most of her life surrounded by the living things her father brought back from his numerous expeditions—including her mother. Despite having made her come-out three years ago, Helen has had no serious suitors and no desire to go through another Season in London, so when she learns the young man she met and kissed at a ball will be in Egypt for part of his Grand Tour, she talks her father into an expedition to Egypt. While he searches for exotic plants, she can be on the lookout for Tom. When the families end up sharing accommodations, Helen is confused by Tom’s stand-offish behavior with her. She thought they parted on good terms. Promising terms.
Despite confrontations with a crocodile, a frightful mummy, and a clue found in hieroglyphics, he’s obviously avoiding her. If she wasn’t in the company of a baby, she would hit him over the head with a sphinx to knock some sense into him. Doesn’t he realize how perfect they would be together?
About the Author Linda Rae Sande
Regency Romance with a Twist • Steamy Ancient Greek Fantasies
www.lindaraesande.com
A self-described nerd and lover of science, Linda Rae Sande spent many years as a published technical writer specializing in 3D graphics workstations, software and 3D animation (her movie credits include SHREK and SHREK 2). Getting lost in the rabbit holes of research has resulted in historical romances set in the Regency-era as well as Ancient Greece. A fan of action-adventure movies, she can frequently be found at the local cinema. Although she no longer has any fish, she follows the San Jose Sharks. She is a member of Novelists, Inc. (NINC) and makes her home in Cody, Wyoming.
