Peddoc

Great read!

Revisado: 11-25-21

Loved this book. Especially the way it went back and forth between the period around the time of the discovery of King Tut's Tomb and its aftermath and forward to Evelyn's (The Collector's Daughter) later years. I could relate to it in so many ways.
First, I've always found Egyptology and the tombs of pharaohs fascinating. The revelation of the secret desecration of Tut's tomb and the pilfering of artifacts by Howard Carter, Lord Carnarvon and even Evelyn was evidence of their disrespect, and Britain's in general, for a country just given independence from British rule, at least in name. It also shows Carter's dishonesty in apparently attempting to present the tomb as already defiled in the hope of obtaining permission to remove half of the finds from the country, in accordance with the license agreement in play at the time. He failed but surreptitiously removed multiple items that have subsequently shown up in museums around the world. The apparent extent of this has been made evident to me by further reading that was inspired by this book.
As a young college student, I backpacked though Europe in the summer of 1972, starting in London where I actually visited the British Museum and saw the incredible display of items from King Tut's tomb. It was the first time many of these antiquities, including, I believe, the gold death mask of Tutankhamun, had ever been shown outside of Egypt. The mask and some other artifacts never leave Egypt now. Unfortunately, I was too immature and uninformed at the time to realize how fortunate I was.
Finally, Evelyn's strokes and her efforts to overcome them brought to mind my father's stroke late in his life and how difficult it can be to overcome the devastating consequences.
All in all, a great read and one that is likely to stimulate further interest in this fascinating subject.

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