Letters From Egypt

Review coverage

A humane, open-minded voice shines across the centuries through these letters - witty, life-affirming, joyous, self-deprecating and utterly enchanted by Gordon's Arab neighbours in Egypt.

'The fearless nineteenth century English Lady who lived on top of an Egyptian temple' TOBY WILKINSON, TELEGRAPH

'A lyrical, sharply observed, often humorous' KATHERINE FRANK

In 1862, Lucie Duff Gordon, cousin of Harriet Martineau and friend of Caroline Norton, Meredith and Thackeray, embarked on a solo trip to Egypt in an effort to rid herself of consumption. The next seven years were spent in a ruined house above a temple in Luxor on the Nile. Feeling at home in this most foreign of lands, Lucie Duff Gordon integrated herself quickly in the locale, setting up a hospital from her home and welcoming the people of Luxor, be they officials or slaves into her house.

The absorbing story told through her letters offers a wonderfully penetrating and sympathetic view of mid-nineteenth century Egypt as well as the personal story of this brave and generous woman.