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PrestonSpeed is republishing all the books of G.A. Henty. And not abridged editions either. The original versions. This book was first published in 1888.
When the story starts fourteen-year-old Amuba is the son of the King of the Rebu, a people from a land on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The Rebu are attacked, and defeated by the Egyptians, Amuba's father killed and Amuba himself taken to Egypt as a slave. Once there he finds himself fortunate. Instead of being forced to labour for the state he is assigned to the service of Ameres, the high-priest of one of the temples. Amuba's former chariot driver, Jethro, has been able to stay by his side and Jethro is also assigned to Ameres. Amuba's duties are not arduous. He finds himself acting as companion to the Ameres' son, Chebron, with whom he soon becomes friends.
All goes well until Chebron accidentally kills a cat. The cat was a sacred animal to the Egyptians and killing one, even accidentally, would mean death. In this case it was even more serious as this particular cat had been chosen to be the sacred cat of the great temple at Bubastes. Eventually suspicion falls on Chebron and Amuba and a mob storm the house of Ameres. The mob is incited by those of the priesthood who believe that Ameres is not really faithful to the gods. Ameres is killed, Mysa, Chebron's sister is carried off and Chebron and Amuba flee into hiding. Do they manage to rescue Mysa and are they able to escape from Egypt?
This is a thrilling adventure story. The excitement never flags. But it also has a sound historical background packed with detail which, nevertheless, never holds back the pace of the story. For example, at the beginning we are given great detail about how the Egyptians made war. Later we are shown Egypt through Amuba's eyes. At one point Chebron is taken by his father to the Nile Delta to study irrigation. Amuba comes too and they spend a few days hunting wild fowl and hippopotamus in the swamps. When they are forced into hiding they are helped by an embalmer and we learn of how the Egyptians were prepared for burial. In the last section Chebron and Amuba make a long journey in an attempt to get back to Rebu. Henty has gone to great pains to ensure this is geograhically accurate and their route could easily be plotted on a map.
Henty also includes a historical note on his sources.
A thrilling adventure story with an accurate background. But there is more than this in the Cat of Bubastes. This is, in many ways, a deeply religious book. Ameres, like a few of the higher priests in Egypt, believes that there is only one true God and that the other gods of Egypt represented the various qualities of the one God. For example Osiris represented the goodness of God and Ameura the intellect of God. In time these representatives of the various facets and characteristics of God came to be regarded as gods themselves.
Ameres explains this to his son after the cat has been killed but we hear of it again when Moses tries to help Amuba. And the young Israelite girl, Ruth, who shares their adventures, also believes in the one true God.
So apart from being a stirring story the Cat of Bubastes also presents young readers -- and their elders -- with some deep ideas on the origins of religion. This book should really make its readers THINK.
Excellent.
11 to adult
A rites-of-passage novel set in Ancient Egypt.
Thirteen-year-old Meryt-Re is an orphan who lives with her aunt and uncle. She has problems far greater than the usual teenage ones. Her uncle finds her a burden and wants her to marry but his niece does not care for the man he has chosen and asks for time. But this is not the worst of Meryt’s problems. There are those who believe that she is under the power of one of the gods and can see death before it happens. If that rumour spreads she will be feared and shunned. Then Meryt’s cousin Baki is ill to the point of death. Meryt’s uncle accuses her of casting a spell on him and orders her out of the house. Where can she go?
Then the father of Dedi, Meryt’s best friend, is in trouble and Meryt is the only one who can help him. Most of the men in Meryt’s village work on building the tombs. Dedi’s father is accused of stealing tools which belong to the government. Meryt has found out that Nofret, the slave girl, has been stealing valuable amulets from the new tombs. Meryt knows that if she can find out who forced Nofret to do this then she will have important clues as to the real thief and be able to clear Dedi’s father. And in her search for the truth she also uncovers some surprising facts about her own family.
This is a well crafted mystery story with a carefully researched historical background. Every day life, the harsh justice system, what it really means to be a slave –– all are clearly illuminated. Above all this book shows the superstition of the Ancient Egyptians. Bakis’s illness was not attributed to his ritual circumcision wound becoming infected but to Meryt casting a spell on him.
Comes with a glossary.
Young adult.
This book was first published in 1992.
Topher Hope (his name is really Christopher but he is called Topher to distinguish him from his dad) lives with his father. His mother, a notable Egytologist, had been killed in a car crash.
One day a stray cat arrives and takes up residence with the Hopes. It bears a startling resemblance to a little stone statue which Topher's mother had brought back from Egypt. Mr Hope suggests that they call it Ka - the Egyptian for double.
Ka stays with them but often disappears for days on end. Topher gradually becomes attached to Ka and worries when she disappears. He gets into trouble when he plays truant from school to try to find her.
One of the Egyptian gods was Horus who was depicted as a hawk or falcon. One night Horus alights on the window sill of Topher's bedroom and takes him back to Ancient Egypt. Topher is still called Topher but he is now the son of an Egyptian scribe. His mother is a priestess, although he does not find that out until later.
The house cat is missing and Topher is worried.
One day his father takes him to his work place and tells him that he could become an apprentice scribe. Then he is called away and Topher reads from the sacred book and learns what Ka's dreadful fate is going to be. Every year there is a festival to the cat goddess Bastet. Before the festival hundreds of cats are sacrificed. Then, broken-necked and wearing a cloth of gold they are paraded through the streets of Bubastis.
Topher cannot tell anyone. Even to think of stopping the sacred rite is to risk death. But whatever the danger Topher knows he must try to save Ka. Does he succeed and does he get back to his own time?
Julia Jarman leads up to this gradually. In the quieter modern section she carefully establishes the characters. There are Topher's problems in living without his mother and his relationship with the deaf girl, Ellie. And his growing affection for Ka. This means that by the time we get to Ancient Egypt we really care about what is going to happen to Ka. Topher's attempt to rescue Ka is forcefully and compellingly written and I found the appearance of the goddess in the temple frightening.
This is very much a story in its own right and not a disguised history lesson. Nevertheless many facts about the Ancient Egyptians are trickled into the book - the Egyptians’ religion, the way they dressed, the journey down the Nile on a barge. In the modern part there is also a scene set in the British Museum.
History apart, this is also very much a book for cat lovers and there are delightful descriptions of Ka. Here is one example.
"... curled up like a Chelsea bun."
"She opened an amber eye. It was like a warning light."
"She stood up, stretched, arched, her tail like an exclamation mark."
Compulsive and irresistible reading for cat lovers, but here is one dog lover who enjoyed it too.
A gripping and powerful story which still manages to impart a fair amount of detail about Ancient Egypt.
10+
In 1878, when workmen were erecting Cleopatra's Needle on the Thames Embankment, one of them found a bundle of papyrus paper covered in Egyptian writing and pictures. On closer examination this turned out to be a diary written by Nefertidy, the mother of the boy Pharaoh Tutkhamun. That is the basis for the book.
This is a humorous look at Ancient Egypt. There are many deliberate anachronisms and witticisms. To name but a few - the postcards which Nefertidy keeps writing to Tutti, the references to shopping at Herods, and the new chariot the two horse Pharrarhi. Also there are characters with names like Munnyinthebank. And the very title is based on a pun - no explanation required.
But this jokey little book is very deceptive. It still manages to pack in a great deal of information about Ancient Egypt. This is done by the device of Nefertidy's journey.
Tutti suggests to his mother that she should go on a Nile cruise and she agrees. This slightly giddy woman describes her travels in a very chatty way in her diary and, in so doing, gives the reader a very comprehensive picture of the Egypt of the time.
First there is a very useful map of the Nile from Thebes to the Mediterranean.
Before she leaves Nefertidy goes across to the Valley of the Kings. Cue for a description of how bodies are embalmed and then buried with everything they will need for their journey to the other world. Then the cruise starts. Visits to Abydos and Akhenaten and information about the gods.
Next Nefertidy stays for a few days with friends on their estate on the oasis of Faiyum. Descriptions of the villa of a wealthy family, also the work of the peasants in the fields. This is balanced by the next port of call, Memphis where Nefertidy gets lost and sees the various craftsmen - copper workers, potters, carpenters, weavers, rope workers.
Along the way we are also shown Nefertidy visiting Tutti's school. When in Faiyum she sees the peasants tramping the grapes in the trough - and promptly falls in herself. Another time she sees a peasant drawing water from the Nile. She asks him what he is using but he is rude to her and says "Shove off." She has him arrested and then she finds he was actually saying "shaduf." All little touches which will help to keep the interest and attention of children.
There is also the time when Nefertidy is ill after eating bread made with dirty flour. We are also shown her getting ready for a banquet. In fact most aspects of Egyptian life are covered.
At the end there is a note condemning the diary as a hoax. This is followed by a serious note about Tutenkhamun and the discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter.
Not for the traditionalists, but if used with a discerning teacher, children could get a lot out of this book.
10+
This is one of the Flashbacks series of stories of about 20,000 words for children of seven to eleven. It is set in Ancient Egypt between the years 1351-1354 B.C.
This is a story written around the life of the Pharaoh Atkhatenaten who was later referred to as "The Great Criminal" because he tried to change the religion of Ancient Egypt.
Harkhuf an animal dealer, takes his two sons, Ibrim and Tutmose, and goes to stay in the palace of the pharaoh in El-Armarna. Once there the pharaoh discovers that Ibrim (who is going blind) can sing and that Harkhuf's other son, Tutmose, is good at making things. He gives orders that Ibrim is to study under the court muscians while Tutmose is to work in the royal workshops. So the two boys stay in the palace while Harkfup goes on his hunting expeditions.
Tutmose is very happy with this arrangement but his father is horrified by what he sees in El-Armarna. Before this the people of Egypt had worshipped many gods but the new pharaoh - Akhatenaten - orders that one god only is to be worshipped:- Aten, the sun god. Harkhuf is shocked. As a believer in many gods he believes it is his religious duty to hate the pharaoh with all his might. Eventually his religious fanaticism drives him to make an attempt on the life of the pharaoh and he makes use of a pottery statuette made by his son.
This book contains a great deal of information about the religion of the Ancient Egyptians. Some very deep ideas for young minds, but most children will probably just treat it as a story.
A rites of passage story set in Ancient Egypt.
Setna is the son of a wealthy artist and farmer. As he is still a child Setna has most of his head shaved. On the unshaved part the hair has been allowed to grow long and is worn in a plait. This was how all Ancient Egyptian children wore their hair. At the age of ten or eleven this plait would be cut off and the hair allowed to grow. This was a sign that childhood had been left behind.
How Setna longs for his plait to be cut off.
But first he has to prove to his father that he has learnt responsibility and has really left childhood behind. And Setna finds that growing up is very difficult.
First he loses his precious amulet, and, without proof, accuses a servant of taking it and shouts at him. Then, instead of taking responsibility for his young sister, he abandons her to a neighbour. And on the very day of the inundation of the Nile he wrestles in the mud like a common boy.
Then it appears that Setna is becoming more sensible. His school reports are better. His parents are pleased that he is being kinder to the servant boy, and also that he is teaching his sister to read and write. His father has to go to help decorate the Pharaoh's new temple near Thebes and he decides to take Setna with him. This is a wonderful experience for Setna, but on his return, there is some backsliding. Setna had met and played with the Pharaoh's son, Rameses, and he boasts about this to the other boys at school. But his teacher notices and has a serious talk with him and Setna struggles to show that he is becoming more responsible. On his name-day the plait is cut off at last. But that is not the only reward Setna gets. A letter from Prince Rameses brings word of something very special.
This story charts Setna's life through a whole year. The book is divided into sections corresponding to the three main seasons of the Egyptian calendar. Akhet:the Nile inundation. Peret:the growing of the crops. Shemu:the harvesting of the crops.
This book may be short. (It is about 12,000 words long). But it still manages to include much detail about Ancient Egypt. We are shown Setna learning his lessons in the House of Life and we see the celebrations when the Nile floods. We also learn much about Egyptian farming -- about how the people planted, and later, harvested their crops. And the interlude in the middle introduces Thebes with its great temples.
Running right tthrough the story is the importance the Egyptians placed on amulets or charms.
Comes with an introductory note and a very useful glossary.
The style and vocabulary make it suitable for a competent seven-year-old but the subject matter means that it could be used throughout the primary school.
A charming little story which, nevertheless, still manages to impart much knowledge about Ancient Egypt.
7-11
This is the third book in the Magic Tree-House series.
Jack and Annie have found a tree-house in the woods near their home. It is filled with books. They know that if they open a book at a page with a picture, point to that picture and make a wish they will be taken back to that time in history. To get back home again they just have to find the book with the picture of their own home and wish to be back there.
This time they find a book about pyramids and decide to go there. They see an Egyptian funeral procession, follow a cat and find the way into a pyramid. They meet the ghost of the Queen of the Nile who is looking for the Book of the Dead which will guide her through the underworld. Jack describes to her some hieroglyphics which lead her to the scroll. Then it is time for Jack and Annie to find their way back to the tree house and home.
This book gives young readers a good introduction to Ancient Egypt. As well as the story this is done in two ways. Firstly by Jack reading out extracts from the book he has found and secondly by his habit of writing in his own notebook.
Note to parents and teachers. No doubt most children will take this book in their stride but there are two parts which a sensitive child might find frightening. These are the parts where the children find a decomposing mummy and later when they are lost in the pyramid.
But apart from this reservation most children will enjoy the story and learn a lot from this book.
Illustrated in black and white throughout.
5-7
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