Three Novels of Ancient Egypt: Khufu's Wisdom, Rhadopis of Nubia, Thebes at War

by Naguib Mahfouz

Other authorsNadine Gordimer (Introduction), Humphrey Davies (Translator), Raymond Stock (Translator), Anthony Calderbank (Translator)
Hardcover, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

892.736

Collection

Publication

Everyman's Library (2007), 648 pages

Description

From Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz: the three magnificent novels--published in an omnibus edition for the first time--that form an ancient-Egyptian counterpart to his famous Cairo Trilogy.   Mahfouz reaches back thousands of years to bring us tales from his homeland's majestic early history--tales of the Egyptian nobility and of war, star-crossed love, and the divine rule of the pharoahs. In Khufu's Wisdom, the legendary Fourth Dynasty monarch faces the prospect of the end of his rule and the possibility that his daughter has fallen in love with the man prophesied to be his successor. Rhadopis of Nubia is the unforgettable story of the charismatic young Pharoah Merenra II and the ravishing courtesan Rhadopis, whose love affair makes them the envy of all Egyptian society. And Thebes at War tells the epic story of Egypt's victory over the Asiatic foreigners who dominated the country for two centuries.   Three Novels of Ancient Egypt gives us a dazzling tapestry of ancient Egypt and reminds us of the remarkable artistry of Naguib Mahfouz.… (more)

Media reviews

For the first time, Everyman’s Library has collected Mahfouz’s trilogy of novels about ancient Egypt in one volume. Compared to his better known and dustily realistic Cairo Trilogy, which portrays mid-twentieth-century Cairo in all its menace and squalor, these earlier novels seem grandiose and
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melodramatic, like a Cecil B. DeMille movie, complete with chariots and a cast of thousands.
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User reviews

LibraryThing member neurodrew
The three novels are early works of the author, melodramatic and romantic, but with strong characters who have interesting internal lives, and conflicts. I always prefer a setting in historical times to a modern setting. I enjoy learning about unfamiliar customs, and habits of everyday life. The
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stories are linked with the history of Pharoahs of ancient Egypt, each with a love story. The introduction is very long, reminding me of the essays I had to write in high school, best read after the books.
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LibraryThing member jwhenderson
Having read and enjoyed Mahfouz's magnificent Cairo Trilogy I thought I would read some of his other writing. I was not disappointed. This is a book I would recommend to anyone who has read and enjoyed Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann.

Language

Original language

Arabic

Original publication date

1939
1943
1944

Physical description

648 p.; 8.2 inches

ISBN

0307266249 / 9780307266248

Local notes

FB Khufu's Wisdom (Fourth Dynasty), Rhadophis of Nubia (Sixth Dynasty), Thebes at War (Seventeenth-Eighteenth Dynasty). Author won Nobel Prize for literature in 1988.

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