This is exactly the sort of book we need: celebrating the women who did so much in a man's world. I loved the idea of the female Egyptologists being given their due. Now, I do wish there was more of an emphasis on the non-white Egyptologists, because I am sure there is much more influence of Egyptians, male and female, who had a much greater hand in the uncovering of their ancestral artifacts, but this book blended elements well. Clearly deeply researched, with a compelling voice.

I wanted to like this book, but the repetitive banging on the drum of women not being appreciated back in the day for their hard work and contributions was grating. The message was clear through the stories and took focus away from the women on whom we were to be focussed! The writing should have been tightened up...how many times did we need to hear about one of the women having no photos in the historical record! I did enjoy hearing about the tombs and the meticulous records that were kept by many of the women and the importance of their work into the present day. The author should have allowed the facts to tell the story.

I generally enjoy women's history titles and I am also quite interested in Egyptology so this one seemed like a great fit for me. The book traces the role that women played in the developing science of Egyptology from the mid-19th century to the early 20th (after which, the World Wars changed how people could access historical sites, and even the country itself). The biographic vignettes of these pioneering women were engaging, and given how much taking the Europeans and Americans did of artifacts or sections of tombs, it was really nice to know that at these women appreciated the local population and did their best to support workers on their digs, as well as provide medical care or education to the local children. In general, as you might expect, the women who initially became interested in Egyptology were single and had no families at home to take care of and usually were well-to-do, so they could afford the travel to Egypt, as well as lodgings, paying workers at the dig sites, renting boats, purchasing (often illegal) antiquities to ship home. As the 19th century turned to the 20th, more women scholars were hired or came as part of a university-funded project to which they contributed artwork, documentation and scholarship of artifacts and cultural customs from the past. Several of these women taught Egyptian history classes at universities both in the UK and the US, or worked behind the scenes in museum or private collections to catalog, document and research the artifacts uncovered during digs. Despite this, the women were really underpaid, under-recognized and underappreciated for their work by their male colleagues. If they were hired by a university, it usually was at a much lower pay scale and while their responsibilities were great, they faded into the background in comparison to the male names of archeaologists they worked for.

The digital copy I was provided did not include the photographs or other visuals, which was a disappointment. I think that would have improved my experience and enjoyment of this title, which began to drag about halfway through. SInce several of the women's timelines overlapped, as did their group of acquaintances, I had a hard time keeping them straight and their stories sort of blurred together for me.

Interesting time period and I would love to have any of these women at a dinner party to hear about their experiences, but unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me.

In “Women in the Valley of the Kings,” Kathleen Sheppard offers a compelling and meticulously researched work that shines a light on the often-overlooked contributions of women archaeologists. The book excels in its detailed portrayal of the challenges and triumphs faced by these scholars. It not only celebrates their scientific achievements but also acknowledges the societal barriers they had to overcome.

While the book is a treasure trove of information, it occasionally gets bogged down in academic detail and tone, which might deter casual readers.

I absolutely loved this book! Great historical information and great if you want to read about some fantastic women doing things that they were said they shouldn’t or couldn’t do. It was sad that it’s taken them so long to get the recognition they deserve about their discoveries.

This is a really interesting book about some wonderful adventurous women! A must read for people who love women's history!

I was so excited to read this book. My first international trip was to Egypt, and while I am far from an expert I was thrilled to see a side of Egyptology that was completely unfamiliar to me.

There are aspects of archaeology that are more favorable—the concepts of discovery, uncovering history, spreading awareness of other cultures, etc. But the unfavorable aspects, like plundering artifacts, can’t be overlooked. Women in this book actively participated in both. The book does confront some uncomfortable truths. The contributions of Egyptians who who worked on these sites are largely overlooked, which the book acknowledges and to a small degree attempts to rectify—but the lack of available information on Egyptian workers is a difficult barrier to overcome.

That being said, these women’s contributions were certainly valuable. Many of the male Egyptologists they worked alongside did not take notes or keep records and used very destructive methods when excavating. The women’s record-keeping and conservation efforts were often essential in preserving knowledge for their own and future generations. I found some of the subjects more interesting than others—field work interests me more than administrative/curatorial roles—but that does not mean the latter are less valuable or less worthy of inclusion in this book. I appreciate the effort to give a thorough account of women’s contributions to the field.

Inspiring read about the women who bucked the norms of their time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to explore Egypt and contribute to our overall knowledge of the ancient world. Kudos to Kathleen Shepphard for highlighting these learned, ambitious, and deeply interesting women -- most of whom are relatively unknown.

First a big thank you to the publisher as well as to the author and NetGalley for the invite to read and review this ,I'm so glad that I decide to pick it up and read it because this is part of the history I knew nothing about because you never hear of the Women Egyptologists , you only hear about the men, and this book brought them life as well as brought them out of the shadows . Which each turn of the pages you see how far they made it so other girls could fellow in their footsteps.

I received a free ebook from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. I have always been interested in the history of Egypt. I have been to many exhibits on Egypt. This was the first book I have read on Egypt.

I didn't realize that there were women involved in Egyptologists. It makes perfect sense. All the history I have heard about Egypt came from a male lense. I was fascinated to learn about these amazing women who have been erased from our knowledge.

The book is really interesting. The women are from different backgrounds ( mainly wealthy and white). They did so MUCH for the study but didn't get the credit or the money that the men got.

I really wanted to love this book. It was good and interesting. It took me so long to finish this book. It gave so much information on these amazing women. The book felt very academic. For me, as the reader, it didn't hold my interest as much as I would have liked.

This book is good for a very interested person in the history of Egypt. Perfect for someone who wants to learn about these amazing women. I feel it would be a good book for a university course on the history of Egypt.

I am thankful for the author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

<b>BOOK REPORT</b>
<i>Received a complimentary copy of St. Martin’s Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the <b>BOOK REPORT </b>section for a cut-and-paste of the <b>DESCRIPTION</b> of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.</i>

Oh dear. As a near-lifelong fan of Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s Newberry Honor-winning novel The Egypt Game and avowed feminist, I was absolutely certain that I would find this book fascinating.

I was absolutely wrong.

It felt like assigned reading for a college course. And I’m quite certain it is historically accurate and a very important addition to the field of Egyptology, if the pages and pages of image permissions and notes are any indication of such.

But I just couldn’t get past about p29 in the electronic copy. So boring. SO, so boring.


<b>DESCRIPTION
The never-before-told story of the women Egyptologists who paved the way of exploration in Egypt and created the basis for Egyptology.</b>
The history of Egyptology is often told as yet one more grand narrative of powerful men striving to seize the day and the precious artifacts for their competing homelands. But that is only half of the story. During the so-called Golden Age of Exploration, there were women working and exploring before Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut. Before men even conceived of claiming the story for themselves, women were working in Egypt to lay the groundwork for all future exploration.

In <i>Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age</i>, Kathleen Sheppard brings the untold stories of these women back into this narrative. Sheppard begins with some of the earliest European women who ventured to Egypt as travelers: Amelia Edwards, Jenny Lane, and Marianne Brocklehurst. Their travelogues, diaries and maps chronicled a new world for the curious. In the vast desert, Maggie Benson, the first woman granted permission to excavate in Egypt, met Nettie Gourlay, the woman who became her lifelong companion. They battled issues of oppression and exclusion and, ultimately, are credited with excavating the Temple of Mut.

As each woman scored a success in the desert, she set up the women who came later for their own struggles and successes. Emma Andrews’ success as a patron and archaeologist helped to pave the way for Margaret Murray to teach. Margaret’s work in the university led to the artists Amice Calverley’s and Myrtle Broome’s ability to work on site at Abydos, creating brilliant reproductions of tomb art, and to Kate Bradbury’s and Caroline Ransom’s leadership in critical Egyptological institutions. <i>Women in the Valley of the Kings</i> upends the grand male narrative of Egyptian exploration and shows how a group of courageous women charted unknown territory and changed the field of Egyptology forever.

I was excited to learn more about Egyptology beyond Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. I thought his daughter the was the only woman in Egypt at the turn of the century and am glad to be proved wrong.

This reads like a thesis rather than something mean to both inform and entertain. It was hard someone with my casual interest to access because there was a lack of context. There was also a lack of a cohesive narrative across all of the women’s separate stories. There’s a wealth of knowledge here, it was just a slog to get through. Probably best for those familiar with this niche interest and not a lay person like me.

Women in the Valley of the Kings is a rich historical look at many of the women who excavated and explored the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. I thoroughly enjoyed their stories, both in Egypt and abroad, and found the book well researched and detailed. It opened up my interest in learning more about these women and other women in archaeology and exploration during this time.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Originally when asked to read and review this book, I was elated. FINALLY!!!! A book about some women and their prominent roles within the shaping of Egyptology. I was excited to start learning a more well rounded historically accurate telling of who was prominent within this time period…not just the men, but finally women included!

Unfortunately, this book does not help fuel a want to learn more about women’s roles within this time period (late 1800s, early 1900s). The biggest issue I had in this book was that it is written like a college paper. Potentially this was a PhD dissertation before coming a full text? It reads horrifically dry, full of fact after fact that I feel all students write in to impress their professors. It assumes you know A LOT about this time period in history, and any lay person is going to be ridiculously confused. I personally have knowledge of Egyptology and some of the people involved in this text, and yet I was still constantly Googling who everyone was.

If that isn’t annoying enough, each chapter has about 5,000 names in it with zero context. What I mean by that is each chapter will speak about one or two specific women, and then add another bunch of names of people they knew or met, which you are supposed to just know already who they are DUH!!

The chapters are also not chronologically written, with the author talking about a women’s death and then in the next paragraph going back to them being alive and well working a project. I don’t understand why someone would write like this? Am I insane for assuming someone writing a biographical chapter about a historical figure would want to write from birth to death in order of big events? I can understand introducing a person and THEN going back to their “XYZ was born in blah blah blah,” but I don’t think I can wrap my head around the constant bouncing around.

If that isn’t enough, some people are writing into earlier chapters when their specific chapter isn’t until later in the book. I assume the name dropping is supposed to OOOH and AHHH the reader for what’s to come but in reality, I was incredibly frustrated trying to get through this piece because I had no idea who anyone ever was.

I will say I DID finish this book, solely because I try and finish all books I am reading, and not because I was engaged or wanting to read more. It was a slog to say the least, and that pisses me off because I feel it’s important to have contemporary pieces mentioning those who have been discarded or ignored before in history (specifically women in this case).

If you are someone who knows a LOT about history, specifically this “guilded age” of Egyptology…then I would recommend this book to you. It is full of information, but holy shit it will read like a text book and force you to contemplate what you’re doing with your life to get that information.

If you are a lay person, with not much knowledge about this era, or you THINK you know a lot, trust me this book will show you you don’t know shit and make you feel horrible about yourself for ever thinking you knew anything about Egyptology around the 1900s.

I do not recommend this piece, and I am angry that I have to say that because I was so excited for this one. Insert GIF of Tyra Banks in America’s Next Top Model screaming, “I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you! How dare you?!”

This book seems to be well-researched, but it was pretty boring. I was not expecting the amount of dry detail that went into each woman's story.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book on the history of women in the field of Egyptology, their discoveries, their importance in educating others and how these women and their rich lives have been unfairly erased from history.

There is a lot of talk about the contributions of people unfairly forgotten by history. Most of these contributions are from women, people with different lifestyle choices, and people of color. The saddest thing about this is not that history has forgotten them, history is impartial, it is their fellow co-workers, researchers, teachers, and mentors who have omitted them. Sure it was of the time, but who made the time. And if these people could see so far in the past, couldn't they see the future should have a few more names to discuss. I have read many books on Egyptology, starting as a child, and seen even more mummy movies. Only one movie featured a woman being a researcher, and that was in the 1990's Mummy movie. Most of the rest are helpful, supportive, spouses, if women are even mentioned at all. I knew nothing of these women featured in this book, those who gave their health, their time, and lives to a field, though problematical, was one they popularized. Nor the rich lives and relationships they shared, even during an era that was known for its lack of freedom, any kind of freedom for women. Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age by Kathleen Sheppard is a history that is much more about women living their best lives, ignoring the constraints forced on them, and engaging in a new field of study that many made their own, and yet still were denied credit.

The book is broken into 7 chapters featuring women in duos, or alone who slowly entered the field of Egyptology, sometimes without knowing why, and blazed paths that allowed the women in the next chapter to follow. These women had a few things going for them. Wealth, power in some cases, a strong will, and a sense of adventure. And a strong intelligence. The book introduces us to women who found companions like themselves, sometimes after bad engagement, or marriages, many traveling to the deserts of Egypt for health. Many travelled because they could, again wealth being helpful. A few wrote books about their experiences, some that have gone on to be important in the field. Many of them stayed together their whole loves, a love that dare not speak its name, but right there for all to see. One taught for almost 40 years, teaching future Egyptologists how to dig, how to read, and how to act. While sharing chocolate, and talking about witches. The whol book has extraordinary stories about women, who shouldn't be forgotten, but shared and celebrated, for all that they accomplished.

This book was not at all what I expected, and I am the better for it. So many great stories, so many strong companions, full of love and strength. Reading a book like this I expected to tear up because of mummy dust, and sand. Not about two people dying and sharing a gravestone of an obelisk with an Ankh carving in a cemetery in England. Sheppard has done a wonderful job of bringing these women to life, showing their unhappy lives in many cases, or in some cases odd marriages, and suddenly being overcome by Mummy-Mania. There is just so much here. Travels through Europe, up the Nile, bursting into tombs, and making great discoveries, and breaking a lot of stuff. Lectures of America. And women finding each other, making their lives complete, while the world shakes it heads at the lonely spinsters.

Amazingly in-depth research, and great writing. One of my favorite history books of the year, and probably my favorite book of the year. Recommended for history fans, Egyptology interested people, and for people in the LGBT community. These stories should be known. I found a whole group of new heroes here. I hope this book becomes a bestseller so others can know their tale.

Wonderful book. This book bring light to women whose work is not well known. Credit was often claimed by men. Sheppard's writing is good and you can tell she did extensive research. This book should appeal to a broad range of readers, especially women.

It was sixth grade Social Studies. I forget exactly what Mrs. Melquist was teaching us but I remember a slideshow, and I remember that it included pictures of the treasures found in King Tut’s tomb. That was the first I knew of archaeology and Egyptology. And I was hooked.

Not enough to become an archaeologist or an Egyptologist, but enough to consume all things Ancient Egypt that I came across from that point on. I knew about Howard Carter and the supposed curse of King Tut’s tomb before I started junior high.

What I didn’t know, until very recently, was what role women played in founding the science of Egyptology and uncovering some very important things beneath the sands of Egypt. And by ‘until very recently,’ I do mean until I saw Women in the Valley of the Kings available on NetGalley and read the summary. So you can imagine how pleased I was to receive an ARC.

Kathleen Sheppard paints a vivid picture of the women who went to Egypt seeking respite from their health issues and ended up uncovering temples, founding historical societies, and changing the understanding of the world at a time when were not, or at least are not remembered for, changing the world. It’s the very definition of falling down a proverbial rabbit hole and having your hobby become your passion become your purpose.

Some of the most fascinating parts of the story Sheppard tells are;

- that women who were in lesbian relationships with other women were often more successful because having a ‘partner’ rather than a husband put them on equal footing with the men working in the field, and it was easier to travel to and Egypt with someone than alone
- that some women Egyptologists tried to quit the jobs they had, because there was too much work (especially when they were also caring for husbands and parents), only to be stopped from doing that because it was cheaper to pay women than to pay men (so that hasn’t changed) in over a hundred years
- that even though the science of Egyptology has mostly developed in the last century and a half, so much of the contribution that women made in the early days has been buried and is rarely acknowledged in favor of the glamour of Howard Carter and other men, even as the research women like Lucie Duff Gordon, Amelia Edwards, Emma Andrews, and Margaret Murray (among many others) is still used and cited

If you’re a student of history, officially or unofficially, and you have an interest in Egyptology and/or the role of women in creating a branch of study dedicated to Egypt at a time when it was not easy to be a woman, I feel certain this is a book you’ll want to read.

— publish date of July 16, 2024

***I received a copy of Women in the Valley of the Kings through NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest and original review.***

This was a comprehensive, informative overview of the first female Egyptologists and their contributions. The focus is entirely on the women themselves and less about the history of Egyptology or historical Egypt. I appreciated the discussion of how difficult it was to find the legacy of some of these women, and how they may have remained unknown if it weren't for the letters, journals, and professional correspondence left behind. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the women who administrated as opposed to those who spent more time in the field. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Egyptology and anyone wanting to learn more about a group of women through their writings.

I found the information in this book to be very interesting, as I love both the gilded age and Egypt. I learned a lot from this book and am thrilled to now know about these amazing women. However, I felt like the author was very biased in some of her assessments and it bothered me. For example, the book argues that the women were likely in a romantic relationship with each other. However, there is no real evidence for this kind of relationship provided. The only "evidence" was the closeness of their relationship. If there was evidence of a real romantic relationship between the women, then including this information would make perfect sense and it then should be included! It just bothered me to spend so much time speculating based off of basically nothing. Obviously this is a small part of the book, but it is the first impression you get as it's found in the beginning of the writing.