Successful discoveries in the Valley of Kings have always been attributed to wealthy men, and the women behind the scenes were left in the shadows. This book brings their stories to life, laying the groundwork for women who came after them in the field of Egyptology. 

This was a page-turner, especially when retelling the famous digs that took place in the Valley of Kings. The author relies on the women’s journals and letters, which add a more personal touch to their lives. It was interesting to see how each woman’s contributions paved the way for the next generation of female Egyptologists. Whether it was financial support for historic digs, copying hieroglyphics on site, educating others in the field and gaining support, and curating Egyptian exhibits to ensure the artifacts found were preserved for many generations to come. It was also great to see the author giving credit to those who were actually doing the backbreaking work of physically digging up the tombs themselves. They also weren’t given any credit throughout history, even though they were the ones sweating their butts off. 
If you’re interested in Egyptology at all, I couldn’t recommend this book more. It was a great time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc.

I really enjoyed this. The main focus in time is from about 1875 to 1930 with some outlying information. My knowledge of Egyptology comes nearly entirely from fiction. Primarily Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series (also Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's <i>Out of the House of Life</i>). It seems clear fictional Amelia began as an amalgam of the historical Amelia and likely other women Egyptologists of the era.

Chapters focus on specific woemen and are in chronological order. I appreciate the details of the relationships between all the different women. I don't mean specifically those who were couples, but how they also worked together. I did enjoy learning that Theodore Davis' fortune was ill-gotten gains!

For those with an interested in women overlooked by history, Egyptology in the gilded age, and fans of Elizabeth Peters.

With Women in the Valley of the Kings, Kathleen Sheppard strives to bring light to a demographic often left out of traditional history. She has more to work with by focusing on women instead of the local Egyptians that participated in digs and excavations, and she does an admirable job of sharing information that’s available. That being said, even then, it definitely feels like she is often working with sparse materials. Any one of these women could be the centerpiece of a standalone book for their lives, work and accomplishments if the source material was available. I don’t know if this lack of information led her to fill in reimagining daily undertakings, feelings and interactions or if it was a desire to make the book less dry and more readable, but there’s points where it doesn’t really work for me because it reads like the women telling their own story to Sheppard and her recounting it, rather than sourcing the information from letters, journals and public records. It’s a tricky balance making non-fiction easily readable without getting too speculative in filling in smaller details. As someone with a minor in anthropology I always enjoy getting to read books that tie into archaeology, especially when the focus of the book isn’t a western civilization wealthy white man. Even knowing practices were different in the time these women did their work, reading about the careless destruction that often happened, the lack of preservation when exposing tombs and artifacts caused deterioration, the desecration of mummies in the name of science because the technology wasn’t there to avoid it, and the overwhelming amount of history that was (legally) removed from its country of origin is cringeworthy in today’s terms. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a well done book that included so many details that made the story so richly told. One never knows the amount of effort and time that women gave to projects of a time past.

This has always been a subject that is so interesting to me and I was happy to learn that these women were more conservators than those looking to cash in on their finds.

Rarely do we associate early Egyptological discoveries with the work and contributions of women. This books brings to light the stories of 11 women who were there and who helped establish the foundation of Egyptology today.

I love that Kathleen Sheppard choose to tell the story in a way that emphasizes the importance of not only each woman’s achieve but whole the foundation each woman helped set so that whoever followed her could built up off it. While Egyptology if mostly associated with the archeological work, Sheppard highlights the importance of written documents as well. These women wrote travelogues, drew maps, and wrote incredibly detailed notes in their diaries. All becoming important first hand accounts to their experiences and to the study Egyptology. Maggie Benson was the first woman to receive a permit to excavate and therefore open the door for so many others to follow. Margaret Murray becomes as teacher and helps shape a new generation of Egyptologists.

I’ve been a fan of Egyptology ever since I was a young girl and I dreamed of becoming an archeologist. I just had to pick up this read and I loved it every step of the way. Would recommend.

Detail in the wrong places | One would expect me to be the ideal audience for this book, a woman who has loved ancient Egypt and the study of it since early childhood, and who has devoured so many of the recent books that center women where they've previously been left out of modern history. And I tried to love this, I really did. That's why it took ages to read, because I wanted so badly to love it. But I just...didn't. I'm not convinced that Sheppard is quite ready to write for a popular audience as opposed to a scholarly one, for one thing. There are passages that shine for the general public, in which you can really see and feel the surroundings, but they stand out in the midst of long dry spells of rote exposition. But more to the point, in many cases there's so much detail about each woman's life before Egypt, then almost nothing about what she did there! The first few women introduced in the book spend chapters being introduced and traveling to the country, then have gone home a couple of pages later. In so many cases little enough was explicitly described about what the women presented here actually did in Egypt that it's hard even for me, who was willing it with all of my might, to justify writing about them. Just barely worth it for the hardcore Egypt fan like myself.

This book focuses on early women Egyptologists. I like that this book gives attention to women who were for the most part completely forgotten. This book outlines their lives and their works. It was certainly a fascinating time period for exploring Egypt. Occasionally the text jumps rather too abruptly between time periods, but overall it is well organized.

The women in the Valley of the Kings gives an insightful biography of the eleven women who had a major role in development of Egyptology. These women made great contributions without the credit. pay or respect they deserved
For many years,I have found the field of Egyptology very fascinating .This book is filled with a wealth information and needs to be read in increments to absorb it all. Not for people with little interest in the topic.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I look forward to the illustration s which will enhance my enjoyment even more of this nonfiction history .

“Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age” by Kathleen Sheppard is not the first book about women who are not given credit for breaking the glass ceiling in a field thought to be under the purview of men. This book reads like a textbook with thumbnail sketches of women who were not trained as archeologists but made their mark in the field.

It reminded me of the book “The Women Founders: Sociology and Social Theory” by Patricia Maddo Lengermann and Gillian Niebrugge but while Lengermann and Niebrugge lauded the women’s accomplishment and downplayed what may or may not have been their sexual orientation, Sheppard tries to comment on the relationships the women may or may not have had with the other female archeologists.

It is not a new idea that people do not get credit for their significant contributions and not just women. To that point, in the true story “The Dig,” made recently into a movie with Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan, Fiennes’s character did all the archeological digging and discovery and a man from the British Museum received all of the acclaim.

Sheppard describes what life was like for women in the 1800s and the 1900s but the Equal Rights Amendment has not been passed and many women remember what life was like in the mid-twentieth century before the second wave of feminism. It was a challenge. Laws protecting women against sexual harassment did not exist, for example.

Sheppard concludes with the statement that some women were never recognized for their accomplishments, that they deserved a day of reckoning but “unsung heroes or heroines” will always exist and there is merit in a job well done.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book.

I was beyond happy to get my hands on this as I have read nonfiction on both subjects --the gilded age and the early days of Egyptology. I had no idea that there were women in history responsible for numerous discoveries and how their money was put to go use. Rather than tea parties with other socialites these women actually put their inheritance to good use. A path many of today's 1% people should follow.
Highly recommend for anyone interested in a part of Egyptology that has been hidden and pf course history lovers and those curious about women's careers set in a time when they really didn't have any options.

3 out of 5 stars

I went into Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age expecting something completely different than what I received. I anticipated a deep dive into the history of Egyptology and the great role women played in bringing the field to what it is today, but this book did not contain a deep dive.

Kathleen Sheppard explores the history of Egyptology during the Gilded Age (1865-1900) and into the twentieth century. Specifically, she examines the role of women and how they paved the path for future women in the field. Sheppard uses travelogues, diaries, and maps to show the women’s contributions to Egyptology. She highlights their accomplishments and explains how each led to the possibility of the next. Her analysis includes women in Britain and the United States and how they helped build interest in the subject on both sides of the Atlantic.

Although Sheppard provides a thorough description of each woman featured in her work, she does not paint a complete picture of the field of Egyptology at the time. I did not get the impression that the field could not have made it to where it is today without the work of those women. That is not to say that Sheppard did not do a successful job of highlighting the impacts of the women. She effectively showed that each woman contributed a great deal to Egyptology, but her argument did not convince me.

Even though the book’s argument falls short, Sheppard presents a detailed biography of each woman. She clearly shows how each woman dedicated a portion of their life to studying Ancient Egypt and the importance of their work. However, the book gave too much detail at times. I lost interest each time Sheppard included a full description of how the women spent their mornings before a dig.

I do not blame this book for being something other than what I anticipated, but I do wish Sheppard included more on the field of Egyptology and less on detailed descriptions of the everyday lives of the featured women. Women in the Valley of the Kings does a good job of bringing women back into the narrative and successfully shows their contributions.

Review also available on Goodreads from 5/08/2024.

Sheppard writes a well-researched book about the early women involved in truly creating the discipline of Egyptology. Unfortunately, I just didn't find it all that interesting. She does spend some time, but not a great deal, exploring their lesbian relationships, and that lessened my interest.

Egyptology really got its start with Amelia Edwards who was fascinated by Letters from Egypt published by Lucie Duff Gordon. Edwards made one trip to Egypt but was such a force for the exploration of the ancient civilaztion that her writings inspired many other wormen to follow.

Sheppard chronicles the work of many these and the challenges faced by women who weren't taken seriously. She digs deep into the work they did and all the truly foundational finds they made.

This one was just ok to me.
I think I would have enjoyed it more if maybe it had been focused on the women in a way that was a more readable format; maybe something from their POV?
A tid bit too textbook-y to me, even though I regularly read nonfiction.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy of this book

The little-known contributions to Egyptology by late nineteenth-century women finally are celebrated in this group biography, covering the field from the 1870’s to the 1930’s. Based on their diaries, publications, and colorful memories of friends and family, Women in the Valley of the Kings breaks ground to put these women in their rightful places, uncovering their central and foundational roles in the development and professionalization of the field.

More than a dozen women are profiled, starting with the 1873 expedition headed by Amelia Edwards, who went on to establish the first department of Egyptology, at University College London, the only institution to give women degrees at that time.
Later women did everything necessary to establish the field, from funding expeditions, to actual excavating, preserving, categorizing, arranging exhibitions, and writing to make the public aware of the wonders of Egypt’s past.

Most of the women were wealthy, well-educated, and worked together as constant companions and intimate friends. Later members of this sisterhood had less money, but their dedication and sheer skill brought them to vital positions at museums and academic departments. They also provided a perspective missing from men’s accounts: Emma Andrews, in Egypt in the early 1900’s, kept diaries that included descriptions of the native workers and the tourists, not a focus of her male counterparts.

I wanted to love this book, appealing in so many ways. Unfortunately, it suffers from the fate of many group biographies: the scope is too wide, and the details too specific. It may be too journalistic for scholars, but too exhaustive for lay people. I am glad to have met these women, but fewer details, and tighter editing, could have made this a more readable book, introducing these women to the general audience they deserve.

This book outlines the history of women in Egyptology. Set during the gilded age, few women had the means to follow their dreams. The women outlined in this book lived, breathed, and dreamed egypt.

Overall, I thought this book could have used some editing. The book was a bit repetitive. The author continually told us that women were important in the field of Egyptology, instead of just letting their actions speak for themselves. After a few chapters, the women seemed to blend together. Overall, not a book I would re-read or recommend.

Super fascinating read! I have such a love for history and learning new things and this did not disappoint. I really did not know much about the women playing key roles in Egyptology and this book gives such a great overview of it but also does not read like a boring history book but rather a novel. Additionally, who doesn't love a female lead?!

I enjoy reading about archeology and about Egypt. This book gave a unique perspective by showing the women's contributions to Egyptology. At times I drifted a bit because the writing was a little dry, but overall it was an interesting book.

This is a very interesting and informative book! If you're someone who's interested in Egyptian artifacts and history, you'll enjoy this book! The imagery is spectacular! I could picture myself in Egypt, with the views of the mountains and tombs! I also enjoyed reading about the women who made a legacy and left their footprints in time.

I was provided a complimentary copy of the book from St Martin's Press via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Women in the Valley of the Kings is about the work of the women who helped shaped the field of Egyptology despite not getting the credit they deserved for it. This book is great for those interested in knowing more about archeology and Egyptology and the contributions women made to the fields. The women followed in this book are Lucie Duff Gordon, Amelia Edwards, and Marianne Brocklehurst. Their stories are a reminder of how often women get overlooked for their accomplishments while men get the credit.

Before reading this I'd only ever heard of the men doing archeology in Egypt like Howard Carter, but women were shaping the field in Egypt before he even showed. I had no idea about the women who so instrumental to the field. I was shocked by how much the women contributed only to remain relatively unknown today. However, the book was dry and dense at times and I found myself skimming some sections since there is just so much covered.

I enjoyed this smart, well-researched account of the British women who helped form the field of Egyptology through their patronage, archaeological skills, and scholarship. Deftly explaining the social mores of the time period and the restrictions on women in British society, Sheppard unpacks the value of all of the work done to create and keep archaeological and other scholarly societies going, the ways in which women obtained training that was generally forbidden to them, and how they shaped the narratives of discovery and history in the excavations of Egypt's early rulers. The book is thorough but never pedantic, and provides readers with the fruits of meticulous research in numerous archives and libraries. No subject is taboo: Sheppard explains that many of the women involved in the work were queer, and how their relationships enabled them to do the kind of work they did and influenced their outlook on women in charge. I can't wait to get a copy of the print version and see the photographs, which are omitted in this Kindle version.