• Headline
  • Published: 27th October 2022
  • Agent: James Wills

TUTANKHAMUN

Joyce Tyldesley

Lost for three thousand years, misunderstood for a century.

A hundred years ago, a team of archaeologists in the Valley of the Kings made a remarkable discovery: a near-complete royal burial, an ancient mummy, and golden riches beyond imagination. The lost tomb of Tutankhamun ignited a media frenzy, propelled into overdrive by rumours of a deadly ancient curse. But amid the hysteria, many stories – including that of Tutankhamun himself – were distorted or forgotten.

Tutankhamun: Pharaoh, Icon, Enigma takes a familiar tale and turns on its head. Leading Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley has gathered ten unique perspectives together for the first time, including that of the teenage pharaoh and his family, ancient embalmers and tomb robbers, famous Western explorers and forgotten Egyptian archaeologists. It’s a journey that spans from ancient Thebes in 1336 BCE, when a young king on a mission to restore his land met an unexpected and violent end, to modern Luxor in 1922 CE when the tomb’s discovery led to a fight over ownership that continues to this day.

“Tyldesley pieces together as clear a picture as possible of the pharaoh's life, death and afterlife, using expert insight and a wealth of evidence to illuminate a compelling character and his universe.”
Book of the Month, BBC History Revealed
“[An] authoritative history . . . A thoughtful new account of Tutankhamun's life and afterlife.”
The Times