The Adventurous Life of Amelia B. Edwards: Egyptologist, Novelist, Activist

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Description

In Victorian England, Amelia B. Edwards was an iconic cultural figure, admired by Trollope and Browning for her best-selling fiction and by the wider public for her witty, thought-provoking travel writing. In later life, she became a celebrated historian, bringing fresh understanding of the world of Ancient Egypt to a fascinated public and founding the Egyptian Exploration Fund (Society). This new biography uses previously overlooked sources to tell the story of her fascinating and unconventional life - her travels, travails and feminist activism - as well as touching on her occasionally problematic views on race. In appreciation of a figure ahead of her time, it examines her involvement in suffrage and animal rights societies as well as revealing new insights into Edwards loving same-sex relationships with Ellen Rice Byrne and Lucy Renshaw. In doing so, it reveals a versatile, creative, witty, independent woman, and a true pioneer of her time.

Reviews

Margaret Jones has admirably brought together the remarkable and varied threads of Amelia B Edwards life in this greatly updated and carefully researched biography, a must-read for anyone interested in in this novelist, travel writer, and pioneer of British Egyptology! * Carl Graves, Director of the Egypt Exploration Society *
A beautifully written, well-researched, and an important recuperation of the fascinating life and work of the well-known Victorian explorer, novelist, and trailblazing queer writer, Amelia B. Edwards. You must get this book if you want to learn more about womens writing and travel. * Mona Narain, Texas Christian University, USA. *

Author Bio

Margaret C. Jones was Senior Lecturer at the Department of English, University of the West of England, UK. She is now a writer, primarily of feminist biographies such as Founder, Fighter, Saxon Queen: Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians and Heretics and Hellraisers: Women of The Masses