Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age
History professor Sheppard recognizes the women who made crucial contributions to the field of Egyptology. Amelia Edwards traveled to Egypt once, but her founding and funding of the Egypt Exploration Society (EES) and her lecture circuit in the U.S. helped establish the discipline. The diaries of Emma Andrews, who was beside Theo Davis in his every dig in the Valley of the Kings, supply valuable details Davis left out of his field notes. After Margaret Alice Murray spent seasons excavating with Flinders Petrie, she returned to University College London and, for decades, trained young archaeologists with scientific rigor.
Myrtle Broome and Amice Calverley preserved the priceless art of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, and Caroline Ransom Williams catalogued and curated important exhibits that translated Egypt’s rich history for American audiences. Anything the men could do, Sheppard shows, the women were doing too, in long skirts and corsets, while also overseeing households, ordering supplies, handling correspondence, and providing health care to the locals. Despite a few occasional bumps in style, this book is a fascinating record of the talented and determined women who pursued their ambition—and their other loves—despite all odds. Highly recommended.
