A Passion for Egypt

This book presents the acclaimed life story of one of the great Egyptologists of the last century.Arthur Weigall was Chief Inspector of Antiquities in Upper Egypt in its remarkable Edwardian heyday: a time of spectacular discoveries - most notably the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 - but also one of a glittering European society centred on Luxor. Weigall's work brought contact with all the leading figures in Egyptian archaeology at the time, including Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter - with whom relations soon grew strained. He may (in the course of reporting for the London press on Carter's work at Tutankhamun's tomb) inadvertently have given rise to the enduring myth of 'The Curse of the Pharaohs'. But the story of Weigall, who did so much to popularise the study of ancient Egypt, is in many ways the story of the modern rediscovery of that forgotten world.