Tutankhamen's Curse: The Developing History of an Egyptian King by Joyce Tyldesley
| Tutankhamen's Curse: The Developing History of an Egyptian King by Joyce Tyldesley | |
|
| |
| Category: History | |
| |
Reviewer: Louise Jones
 | |
| Summary: Joyce Tyldesley reveals more about the man behind the golden mask. We learn about the family history of the popular king, as well as some of the colourful myths that have arisen since the discovery of his tomb. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 288 | Date: July 2013 |
| Publisher: Profile Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781861971661 | |
|
Share on: | |
|
| |
The striking cover of Tutankhamen’s Curse certainly has a way of arresting the reader’s attention. The iconic golden funeral mask peers out from an ink-black background and those heavily-lined Egyptian eyes seem to stare eerily into the soul of the beholder.
Of course, the curse itself, popular as ever, has been debunked many times by scientists and Egyptologists alike. Despite this, I almost jumped off the chair when, at the precise moment that I was reading about the curse myths, a large brown earwig seemed to drop out of the book and scurry across my lap! I could have sworn it was a scarab...
Joyce Tyldesley, a senior lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Manchester, uses her extensive knowledge and expertise of the subject to bring the story of Tutankhamen to life. She retells the famous story of the tomb’s discovery, discusses the various scientific methods used to study the mummy, looks at Tutankhamen’s extended family tree and even finds time to dedicate a chapter to The Curse itself.
With such a wide range of subjects covered in the book, I found Tutankhamen’s Curse to be a thorough and well-researched study of all aspects of the king’s life (and afterlife). I especially enjoyed the section about Tutankhamen’s family tree, which helped me to appreciate the complexity and uncertainty that Egyptologists face when trying to discern who was related to whom. Despite advances in DNA research, it still remains exceptionally difficult to work out the relationships between the mummies discovered in the Valley of the Kings. The job is made even more difficult when it is revealed that the Pharaohs and their queens changed their names when the official state religion changed. The suffix Aten became Amen, reflecting the name of the god that happened to be in favour at the time.
Beautiful photographs in both colour and black and white enhance the text and help the reader gain a better appreciation of the artwork of the Amarna period, which was quite unlike the typical Egyptian tomb paintings that we are so used to seeing. Statues had feminine features, wide hips and full lips. Young girls were depicted as having an egg-shaped head. Boys were rarely pictured with their fathers. The bizarre art reflected the momentous political and religious changes that took place during this period.
Tutankhamen’s Curse is a great resource for anyone interested in Tutankhamen and the other larger-than-life characters from the Amarna period. Interest in the king shows no sign of waning and this well-written book does much to ignite the imagination and open up an ancient world to a new generation of Egyptophiles.
I recently read The Shadow King: The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut's Mummy by Jo Marchant, which remains my favourite book on the subject, due to Marchant's warm, chatty writing style and genuine enthusiasm.
Please share on: 
Facebook, 
Twitter and
Instagram
You can read more book reviews or buy Tutankhamen's Curse: The Developing History of an Egyptian King by Joyce Tyldesley at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Tutankhamen's Curse: The Developing History of an Egyptian King by Joyce Tyldesley at Amazon.com.
Comments
Like to comment on this review?
Just send us an email and we'll put the best up on the site.
