Je suis dans l'impossibilité de lire ce livre au sujet super intéressant ; il est en pdf alors que je lis sur tablette et que ce format est rédhibitoire. C'est malheureux. Je mets 3 étoiles car je ne peux pas juger du contenu.

What a fun and informative read. It talks about the life of Ancient Egyptian at time of XVIII dynast as it was a guide for an expat.
It's well researched, full of facts and informations, and I liked the style of writing and the humour.
I appreciated it doesn't talk about kings or aristocracy but about the life of the population.
I couldn't put it down and I'd be happy to read other books by this author.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This book was a lot of fun, and I mean a lot of fun. Probably two prerequisites (1) An interest in Ancient History and (2) a vivid imagination. Tick, tick,

How to Survive in Ancient Egypt, by Charlotte Booth, asks the reader to become a visitor to ancient Thebes - modern Luxor - in the magnificent River Nile, during the period 1360 BCE. This is a period of Ancient Period, known as the glory days, under Amenhotep III in the 18th dynasty who reigned between 1386 BCE and 1349 BCE.

Firstly, the Author - Charlotte Booth is a qualified Egyptologist and has authored a number of books on the subject. She teaches hieroglyphs and Egyptology so she seems to know what she's banging on about.

So I strapped on my board shorts, Led Zeppelin T-shirt and Crocs and took my flight from Cairns in Far North Queensland to Thebes - via Cairo and Singapore of course.

Booth paints a lively picture of this bustling region, the fertile borders of the Nile, rich in people and produce. She asks the reader to participate here and fire up our minds-eye and imagine we need to look for a job, a house, feed and clothe ourselves. As a dreamer - this came very easy to me, so I played my part and was richly rewarded.

There are so many interesting sections and chapters in this book I can only highlight a few of them.

Pyramids: We learn what they are, why they were and where they are. I found it particularly interesting to learn the earliest pyramids (2600 BCE) were the step pyramids of Djosser at Saqqara (a 5 day walk from Thebes - glad I kept hold of my Crocs!). I got to see these beautiful structures which were the precursors of the smooth walled Pyramids we are used to seeing.

Cheese: During my walk to these structures I was able to feast on beautiful cheeses, made from cows, goats and sheep. Later when I returned, it was also interesting to learn the oldest 'lump' of cheese was later found in 2018 in a Saqqara tomb and was aged for an incredible 3,200 years. Amazing!!

Professional Mourners: I had a quiet chuckle, and I had to be discrete so as not to cause offence. But I realised many of the mourners in a middle class funeral I stumbled on where in fact professional mourners. These people were paid to scream, cry and rip their clothes off and tear their hair out to show how well-loved the deceased was. What??

Perfume: So as to smell half-decent at various parties I attended (I proved to be a bit of a novelty, due to my accent) - I wore Perfumed Cones on my head - I helped make these, using animal fat and flower petals. It took a while, but after adding many layers and flowers, and when their bouquet overpowered the rancid fat - I was good to go. These cones melted as the evening progressed, released a beautiful, enchanting aroma.

Medicine: At one stage, after devouring some - admittedly - aged poultry, I needed to seek a remedy for indigestion. It was swiftly dealt with, after consulting the local priest who gave me a mixture of, crushed hog's tooth and the dough of four sweet cakes. I ate them for four days and was fixed - I think.

I learned what to eat, what types of jobs were available (I applied to be a village scribe, but ended up being a Mourner), how to pray, how to stay healthy and so, so much more. The book has many excellent photos to help you picture what was happening.

I was really enjoyed this. Apart from being educational, it proved to be a blast.

4 Stars

This is a must-read for anyone interested in time travel or those history buffs who also participate in cosplay. Maybe not a popular costume to wear at Renaissance Faires, there are numerous people who love to be as accurate as possible when doing re-enactments or cosplay (dressing up as your favorite character), which has extended out to anything a person is interested in. Even costume makers, seamstresses, or even tailors would find most of this book relevant to what they do. Very detailed and informative while not boring the reader in the least.
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for my volunteer review.

I enjoyed this detailed look into the life of a somewhat average newcomer to ancient Egypt. It provided interesting tidbits about where you might find a place to live, a job, how to dress/ hygiene, religion, entertainment, law enforcement. The chart at the end with prices was not formatted well, I assume this would be fixed before publication. The book also just abruptly ends. It is the chart with prices and that’s it. I found that quite jarring, and was looking around to see if I missed anything.

This book would be for anyone that loves Egypt. Much more is known about kings and well off people, so it is fun and refreshing to see how others lived. It gave reasoning behind different things- like why Egyptians wore kohl on their eyes. Great fun!

This unique look at life in ancient Egypt imagines the reader has been thrust back into life there and shows how they would survive. From where to live, what to wear, eat and say, how to find work, how to stay alive in perilous times, even what to do with leisure time. This unique format allows readers to immerse themselves in the day to day life of an ancient Egyptian, to imagine what life might have been like in one of the most storied cultures on earth