A Thousand Miles Up the Nile (1877) - Amelia Blanford Edwards Audiobook

Written by Amelia Blanford Edwards
Read by Alan Munro
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps

Length: 18 hrs and 38 mins
Release date: 01-08-22
Publisher: Trout Lake Media

“This is the most important of my books, and the one by which I most hope to be remembered if I may hope to be remembered at all!” Amelia B Edwards, 1877.

A chance visit to Egypt in 1873 by Amelia B. Edwards changed the future of British Egyptology forever. Her travelogue, A Thousand Miles Up the Nile, would inspire generations after her to take up her message to support and promote Egyptian cultural heritage. While the way this is done has changed a lot since Amelia’s time, her legacy remains strong in the institutions she founded. In 1882 she co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund at the British Museum. Edwards became joint Honorary Secretary of the Fund until her death. She gained the nickname “Godmother of Egyptology” for her contributions.

From GoodReads—
“The book has two great strengths. The first is that it describes, often in detail, the archaeological remains as they were in 1873-74; many have been subsequently damaged, destroyed, or relocated (e.g. Philae and Abu Simbel in 1968 because of the Aswan Dam). While written descriptions can become tedious, most of Edwards’ are quite vivid. Even when she fails (on the hall of Seti I at Karnak), she is eloquent:

The book’s second strength is Edwards’ lively narrative of life on the Nile. There is much everyday life as well as Egyptian history.

One of the best ways to get a feel for not just the Victorian behavior abroad (which was boorish and insensitive to people and artifacts) but also what Egypt was like during the 1870s and the style of writing during this time. A must read for writers of historical fiction.”

Something I noticed was the number of independent women travelers.

Modern author Elizabeth Peters based her character Amelia Peabody on this real-life Victorian explorer/Egyptologist.

Cover art is of the 1922 paperback reprint of her book.