This is a remarkable collection of short stories — vivid, haunting, detailed, based on life in Egypt more than 3000 years ago, during what we now call the New Kingdom, a period which lasted from about 1600 to 1100 B.C.  It was a time when Egyptian life was at its most colorful and varied, when Egypt virtually dominated the entire Mediterranean Sea, and its Pharaohs and merchants had acquired unbelievable wealth and power, while the masses of poor people and slaves conquered from other lands had nothing whatever to call their own.

All of these stories seem to have been told by someone who was alive at the time, so sharp are the impressions and so vivid the descriptions down to the smallest details of clothing, cooking, or the furnishings of a house. But more than just accurate recording, these stories reflect the spirit of the times, a peculiar restlessness, the sinister superstitions in the practice of magic, and occasionally the cruelty of those who for too long had enjoyed being masters.

Olivia E. Coolidge, author of GREEK MYTHS, LEGENDS OF THE NORTH, and THE TROJAN WAR, has combined an extraordinary ability to project herself into another time with an extremely rich background in the history of this period. Joseph Low has perfectly caught the intensity and vitality of the stories in his striking and sensitive black and white drawings.

From the dust jacket

This remarkable collection of short stories-vivid, haunting, detailed-is based on life in Egypt more than 3000 years ago, during what we now call the New Kingdom. It was a time when Egyptian life was at its most colorful and varied, when Egypt virtually dominated the entire Mediterranean Sea, and its Pharaohs and merchants had acquired quite unbelievable wealth and power, while the masses of poor people and slaves conquered from other lands had nothing whatever to call their own.

"There was nothing dull about life to the Egyptians. These stories, which might have been told or might have happened, give a picture of a people who were intensely alive. It is this quality that makes them exciting to read about, even though their civilization has long gone by." -Olivia Coolidge

From the Hillside Education reprint edition