Ancient Egypt in Fiction for Young Adults

ANCIENT EGYPT IN

FICTION

FOR

YOUNG ADULTS

Princes, princesses, peasants; mummies, magic cats, and young archaeologists.
Stories published for middle-grade and young adult readers (ages 8 to 18), but people of most any age will find something they like here.

Ancient Egypt in Fiction Introduction & Home Page

Last updated: 9 July 2008

Titles, including translations, added within the last three months are noted.

The following novels and short stories for middle readers and young adults feature significant elements drawn from ancient, and most especially pharaonic, Egypt.

If you would like to contribute to the list with either new items or additions/corrections to the current list, please see the guidelines.

HISTORICAL
BIBLICAL
CONTEMPORARY (Post World War II)
MYSTERY & ADVENTURE	Ancient Setting
	Modern Setting
FANTASY & HORROR	Ancient Setting (including retold myths & legends)
	Modern Setting
SCIENCE FICTION
TIME TRAVEL
UNCLASSIFIED

see also:

Fiction for Children

HISTORICAL: Ancient Setting

Aubin, Henry T.
Rise of the Golden Cobra
Nautilus Book Award (silver)
2007: Annick Press
Fourteen-year-old Nebamon joins the physicians traveling with the army of King Piankhy in his conquest of Egypt.

Bedford-Jones, H.
The Young Shield Bearer
No Date (1910s-1930s?): Elgin, Illinois: David C. Cook
A sixteen-year-old youth is rewarded with the position of the king's shield bearer just in time to take part in the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittites.

Berry, Erick (= Best, Allena)
Honey of the Nile
1938: Oxford: Oxford University Press
1950: Junior Literary Guild
1963: New York: Viking
Set during the reign of Tutankhamen.

Borell, Eric
"Swordsman of Sebak"
1935: Youth's Companion/American Boy 109.6 (June; pp. 3-5, 30-32) (illus. Manning Dev. Lee)

Brown, Richard
Setna's Journey
2001: Anglia Young Books
The young son of an artist longs to have his lock of hair, a symbol of childhood, cut off, but first he must learn to be a young man.

Carter, Dorothy Sharp
His Majesty, Queen Hatshepsut
1987: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
The story of the female pharaoh.

Coolidge, Olivia E.
Egyptian Adventures
1954: New York: Houghton Mifflin/Riverside
A collection of 12 short stories set in ancient Egypt.

Divin, Marguerite
Stories from Ancient Egypt (translated from the French by Whelpton, Barbara)
1965: London: Burke

Downey, Fairfax
"Battle Lion of Egypt"
1966: Children's Digest (July)

Efremov, Ivan
Na krayu Ojkumeny [Russian: "On The Brink of the Inhabited World"]
1949

translations:
English (George H. Hanna):
The Land of Foam
1949: Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House
2001: Fredonia

A Greek boy is kidnapped by Egyptians as a slave and, having escaped, journeys across the African continent with an African and an Etruscan to return home.

French, Jackie
Pharaoh: The Boy Who Conquered the Nile
2007: Angus & Robertson
After being scarred by a crocodile, the formerly "perfect" Prince Narmer loses his place as the future king of Thisis, so he goes traveling beyond Egypt with the man who healed him.

Gere, Frances Kent
Boy of Babylon
1941: New York: Longman's, Green & Co.
A twelve-year-old boy must deliver gold and a jewel to Asshur and Egypt.

Once Upon a Time in Egypt
1937: New York and Toronto: Longmans, Green and Co.
The story of a prince and princess of the 4th Dynasty.

Gregory, Kristiana
THE ROYAL DIARIES
Cleopatra VII, Daughter of the Nile
1999: New York: Scholastic
Twelve-year-old Cleopatra must cope with threats to her father's life, and her own.

Green, Robert James
Hawk of the Nile
1962: New York: St. Martin's Press
The death of a hawk causes great trouble for an Egyptian boy.

Harvey, Gill
Orphan of the Sun
2006: London: Bloomsbury
An orphaned girl, sent to live with her uncle's family in the village of the royal tomb-makers, uncovers strange goings-on in the village.

Henty, G. A.
The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt
1889: London: Blackie and Son
1998: Preston-Speed Publications
2002: New York: Dover
Chebron and his sister must flee Egypt when he accidentally kills a sacred cat. Set during the reign of the "warrior pharaoh" Thutmose III.

Howard, Alice
The Princess Runs Away: a story of Egypt in 1900 B.C.
1934: New York: Macmillan (illus. John T. Howard)
An Egyptian princess flees the palace life she's grown bored with.

Kerry, Mary
Saving the Scrolls
2005: Spring, TX: Absey & Co.
The 12-year-old Basdinya, youngest sister of Cleopatra, witnesses her sister seize the throne with Roman aid.

Lamprey, L.
Long Ago in Egypt
1926: Boston: Little, Brown and Co. (illus. Margaret Freeman)

Latimer, John
The King's Rock
1969: New York: Meredith Press
A young Roman centurion searches for an ancient pharaoh's tomb.

Leighton, Margaret
Cleopatra, Sister of the Moon
1969: New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux

Little, Kimberley Griffiths
"The Mummy Tent"
2008: Cricket 35.7 (March), pp. 5-12 (illus. Doug Chayka)
The son of the Chief Embalmer helps the injured daughter of a High Priest and this leads to consequences...

Lownsbery, Eloise
A Camel for a Throne
1941: New York: Houghton Mifflin
An Egyptian princess is forced from the palace and must live among the common folk.

Lumpkin, Beatrice
Senefer and Hatshepsut: a novel of Egyptian genius
1983: Chicago: DuSable Museum Press

Mackenzie, Donald A.
"A Prince in Peril: A Tale of Ancient Egypt"
1924: Blackie's Boys Annual: London: Blackie & Son

Maney, Regina
The Cat Wore Earrings
1988
Set during the reign of Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh.

Matje, M.
Viena Diena Egiptiesu Zena Dzive [Latvian: One Day in the Life of an Egyptian Boy (??)]
1957: Riga, Latvia

McCaughrean, Geraldine
Casting the Gods Adrift
1998: A&C Black/Flashback (illus. Paul Fisher-Johnson)
2002: Cricket Magazine (serialized)
2003: Peru, Illinois: Cricket Books (illus. Patricia D. Ludlow)
Two brothers, one of whom is going blind, and their father, who used to provide animals for the temples of the many gods, find work -- and danger -- at the court of King Akhnaten, who has outlawed all the gods except Aten.

McGraw, Eloise Jarvis
The Golden Goblet

Newbery Honor Book

1961: Coward-McCann

translations:
German:
Der goldene Kelch

A boy who hopes to become a goldsmith like his father is enslaved as a stonecutter by his cruel half-brother.

Mara, Daughter of the Nile
1953: Coward-McCann
A slave girl acts as a spy during the reign of the female pharaoh, Hatshepsut.

Meadowcroft, Enid La Monte
Scarab for Luck
1964: New York: Thomas Y. Crowell
After being expelled from school, an artist son runs away with an escaped Syrian slave. Set during the reign of Thutmose III.

Morrison, Lucile
The Lost Queen of Egypt
1937: Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott (illus. Franz Geritz; frontispiece Winifred Brunton)
1938: London: Secker and Warburg (illus. Frank Gerity)
The story of Queen Ankhesenamen, daughter of Akhenaten and wife of Tutankhamen.

Nolting, Anne
Dear Future People
1996: Royal Fireworks Press
The story of Hypatia, a young woman who is the last keeper of the Library of Alexandria.

Norton, Andre
Shadow Hawk
1960: New York: Harcourt Brace
1979: New York: Fawcett Crest
1987: New York: Del Rey
The Egyptians fight to oust their foreign overlords at the end of the 17th Dynasty.

Reig, June
Diary of the Boy-King, Tut-Ankh-Amen
1978: Scribner
The year Tutankhamen becomes a nine-year-old king.

Rubalcaba, Jill
A Place in the Sun
1997: New York: Houghton Mifflin
A boy who accidentally kills a sacred dove is condemned to the mines in Nubia.

The Wadjet Eye
2000: New York: Houghton Mifflin
In the days of Cleopatra and Caesar, Damon, a student physician, must travel from Egypt to Spain with a friend to deliver important news to his father.

Schlein, Miriam
Amuny, Boy of Old Egypt
1961: Abelard-Schuman

Steele, Robert
The Story Of Alexander: re-told from the originals
1894: London: David Nutt (illus. Fred Mason)
A fable-like retelling of the story of Alexander the Great, who conquered many lands including Egypt. Includes notes about the ancient sources.

Stevenson, Forence
Aida
1965: Putnam Publishing & The Metropolitan Opera Guild
A retelling of Verdi's opera, in which an Ethiopian slave girl must choose between duty and love.

Surget, Alain
MÉNÈS: PREMIER PHARAON D'ÉGYPTE
Ménès : Premier pharaon d'Egypte [French: Menes: The First Pharaoh of Egypt]
2001: Flammarion/Castor Poche Senior
Omnibus edition including all three novels in the series of this name.

1 -- L'Oeil d'Horus [French: The Eye of Horus]
1999: Flammarion/Castor Poche Senior
2001: Ménès : Premier pharaon d'Egypte, Surget, Alain: Flammarion/Castor Poche Senior
The king of Upper Egypt orders Prince Menî prove himself capable of becoming king by completing three tasks, and along the way the prince encounters Thouyi, a girl thief.

2 -- L'Assassin du Nil [French: The Assassi
1999: Flammarion/Castor Poche Senior
2001: Ménès : Premier pharaon d'Egypte, Surget, Alain: Flammarion/Castor Poche Senior
The assassination of an ambassador causes Prince Menî to be sent on a secret mission to prevent war.

3 -- Le Maître des deux terres [French: The Lord of the Two Lands]
2001: Flammarion/Castor Poche Senior
2001: Ménès : Premier pharaon d'Egypte, Surget, Alain: Flammarion/Castor Poche Senior
Menî's father has been assassinated, Lower Egypt has declared war on its southern neighbor -- can Menî save his land?

Thompson, James C.
The Amarna Experiment
2003: Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse
The story of the heretic pharaoh, Akhenaten, and his family, including Queen Nefertiti and the future king, Tutankhamun.

Turner, Ann
LIFE AND TIMES
Maia of Thebes
2005: New York: Scholastic
An Egyptian girl must flee after she accuses her uncle of stealing grain from the temple, and she must be careful because her brother secretly taught her to read and write.

Wilding, Valerie
The Secret Diary of an Egyptian Mummy Maker
Secret Diary
forthcoming (2006): Egmont Books (illus. Michael Broad)

Wilkinson, Carole
RAMOSE
1 -- Prince in Exile
A spoiled prince escapes the plot of his step-mother and the vizier by becoming a humble scribe's apprentice at the village of the royal tomb-makers.

2 -- Ramose and the Tomb Robbers
Still in the guise of a scribe, Ramose is kidnapped by tomb-robbers who need him to read the maps of the royal tombs.

3 -- Sting of the Scorpion
2001: Black Dog Books
Ramose continues to struggle to regain the throne that is rightfully his.

Williams, Bert
The Sword of Egypt
1976: New York: Scholastic
1977: Richmond Hill, Ontario: Scholastic TAB
Aahmes attempts to clear the name of his father who has been executed as a traitor against Ramses III.

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BIBLICAL

Adams, Anne Tyra
Songbird of the Nile: the diary of Miriam's best friend,1527 B.C. - 1526 B.C.
forthcoming: Promised Land Diaries/Baker Books

Baez, Kjersti Hoff
Miriam
Christian Library
Miriam is witness to oppression of the Israelites by the cruel Egyptians and their escape into a new land.

Banks, Lynne Reid
Moses in Egypt
1998: Dreamworks
Novelization of the animated film "The Prince of Egypt."

Bruno, Bonnie
SECRET JOURNALS OF BIBLE-TIME KIDS
1 -- Abigail's Secret Journal
Secret Journals of Bible-Time Kids 1
2004: Cook Communications Ministries
Twelve-year-old Abigail keeps a diary of the Exodus from Egypt into Canaan.

Dalgleish, Florence
The Mighty Past: A Tale of the Plagues of Egypt for Boys and Girls
undated (1910s?): J. W. Butcher

Davidson, Robert
"It Happened in Egypt"
Daybreak
1950: Stories from Holy Writ, Robert Davidson

"Joseph and His Brethren"
Daybreak
1950: Stories from Holy Writ, Robert Davidson
Both these stories were first published in Daybreak (a children's Christian magazine) between 1914 and 1920.

Diamond, Lucy
"The Flight into Egypt"
1942: The Loveliest Stories of All, Lucy Diamond: London: Collins (illus. H. M. Brock & Irene Mountfort)
A retelling of the Holy Family's journey to Egypt to escape the decree of Herod.

Dodek, Miriam Selker
"Golden Gods"
"Green Molech"
"Iraia Defeats the Golden Gods"
"A Kind of Magic"
"Land of the No Longer Living"
"Little Princess of the Pharaoh"
"Little Ra"
"Marni"
"Menacon and the Red Sea"
"Proof of Ka"
"River of Wonder"
"Sign of the Moon Goddess"
"The Story of Non-Ar"
"The Tale of Abnarth:
"Valley of the Written-Upon"
"Weeping God"
1967: River of Wonder: Stories of the Nile, Miriam Selker Dodek: Tel Aviv: Joshua Chachik
All the stories above appear in this collection.

Gormley, Beatrice
Miriam
1999: William B. Eerdmans
The story of the sister of Moses.

Harris, Rosemary
MOON IN THE CLOUD Trilogy
1 -- The Moon in the Cloud

Carnegie Medal

1968: London: Faber & Faber
1968: New York: MacMillan
1977: London: Puffin
1990: Peter Smith
Reuben is sent by Noah's son to Egypt to fetch two temple cats. Set during the Sixth Dynasty.

2 -- The Shadow on the Sun
1970: London: Faber & Faber
1970: New York: MacMillan
1970: Puffin
1977: New York: Faber & Faber
In Kemi (Egypt), Reuben meets old friends and enemies and must go to the land of Punt to find the bewitching Meri-Mekhmet.

3 -- The Bright and Morning Star
London: Faber & Faber
1987: Puffin
London: Faber & Faber

Haskin, Dorothy C.
The Court of Hur
1960: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House
The story of Moses and the Exodus.

Lambert, Dave
Trouble Times Ten
2000: Bethany House
Ben's many fears are intensified by the ten plagues of Egypt: can he face the greatest fear, crossing the bottom of the Red Sea?

L'Engle, Madeleine
"Pakko's Camel"
1982: The Sphinx at Dawn: two stories, Madeleine L'Engle: Seabury Press
1989: The Sphinx at Dawn: two stories, Madeleine L'Engle: HarperCollins
Yehoshuah (Jesus) must deal with a stubborn camel and its owner.

"The Sphinx at Dawn"
1982: The Sphinx at Dawn: two stories, Madeleine L'Engle: Seabury Press
1989: The Sphinx at Dawn: two stories, Madeleine L'Engle: HarperCollins
Yehoshuah converses in riddles with the Sphinx.

Lester, Julius
Pharaoh's Daughter
2000: Harcourt/Silver Whistle
2002: HarperTrophy
Moses's youth in Egypt as seen through his eyes and those of his sister.

Leviton, Sonia
Escape from Egypt

ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Booklist Editor's Choice
Voice of Youth Advocate's Outstanding Book

1994: Little, Brown
A Hebrew slave falls in love with a half-Egyptian girl.

Myers, Walter Dean
"Reuben and Joseph"
2003: About Time to Love: Tales from the Old Testament, Walter Dean Myers: New York: Scholastic

"Aser and Gamiel"
2003: About Time to Love: Tales from the Old Testament, Walter Dean Myers: New York: Scholastic

Park, Lois M.
Princess of the Two Lands

Pettey, Emma
Boy of the Wilderness
1948: Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press (illus. Robert Doremus)
A grandfather tells his grandchildren about his boyhood days as a slave in Egypt.

Mendes, H. Pereira
In Old Egypt: A Story About the Bible But Not in the Bible
1903: Frederick A. Stokes (illus. Mabel L. Humphrey)

Menick, Stephen
"Polliwog"
2000: Ribbiting Tales, ed. Nancy Springer: Penguin/Philomel (illus. Tony DiTerlizzi)
The Biblical plagues from the point of view of the pharaoh, whose first-born son takes delight in the plague of frogs.

Neff, Merlin L.
Conquering Heroes
The Bible Pageant 2
1947 (illus.)
Includes stories based on the life of Moses.

Salminen, Esther
God's First Children
1946: Roy Publishers (illustrations by Kaj Beckman & Per Beckman)
Includes stories of Joseph and Moses, among others.

Searchrest, Effie
Egyptian Photoplays
1921: Rand McNally
Stories (perhaps entirely Biblical?) set in Egypt, illustrated with halftones and one color plate after photographs taken by the author.

Travis, Lucille
Tirzah
1991: Herald Press
A twelve-year-old girl flees Egypt with the Hebrews.

Waldron, Kathleen
Joseph, Master of Dreams
2000: Beloved Books: Stories of Faith/Roussan Publishers
A spoiled boy, the envy of his brothers, finds himself a slave in Egypt.

Wheeler, Opal
Moses
1962: New York: E. P. Dutton (illus. Linford Donovan)

White, C. Charles
Pharaoh's Friend
1955: London: The Epworth Press
The story of Joseph.

Williams, Rex
Joseph
1990: Barbour Publishing
The story of Joseph, who became advisor to the king of Egypt.

Williamson, Joanne
God King: A Story in the Days of King Hezekiah
2002: Bethlehem Books
Taharka, a minor son of the Egyptian King Shabaka unexpectedly becomes king. Opposed by his envious half-brother he flees Egypt with the Judean ambassador who came seeking Egypt's help against the Assyrians.

Hittite Warrior
1960: Bethlehem Books
A young Hittite warrior participates in a great battle, during the time of Deborah, against the Hebrew hero Barak.

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CONTEMPORARY

Anderson, Mary
... Forever Ahbra
1981: New York: Atheneum
An art student meets an Egyptian student who, terrified of a Tutankhamen exhibition, is subject to sudden attacks of unconsciousness.

Anonymous (= Wilson, Lucy Sarah (Atkins)
The Fruits of Enterprize Exhibited in the Travels of Belzoni in Egypt and Nubia; interspersed with the observations of a mother to her children
1821: London: Harris & Son
1824: Boston: Monroe & Francis
1828
1842: New York: Charles S. Francis (new and revised ed.)
A mother tells her children stories as they visit an exhibit.

Anonymous
The Warringtons Abroad; or, twelve months in Germany, Italy, and Egypt
1866: Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday (illus.)
A fictional travel account of travel to foreign countries.

Cameron, Eleanor
A Room Made of Windows
Children's Book World Honor
A teen who wants more than anything to become a writer must face the outside world, which includes her brother, who believes he is the incarnation of an Egyptian pharaoh.

Danzinger, Paula
Make Like a Tree and Leave
1990: New York: Delacorte
One of the complications encountered when the students set off to save a wildlife area is caused by the class's project on ancient Egypt.

Littke, Lael J.
The Phantom Fair
1996: Salt Lake City: Deseret
A Mormon girl's hopes to join a popular club are complicated by the appearance of a mummy in her backyard.

Maxwell, Katie
Chloe, Queen of Denial
2004: Smooch
Cowardly Chloe's parents send her on an excavation for teens in Egypt, where she will try to remake herself. The narrative in part parallels Eyeliner of the Gods.

Eyeliner of the Gods
2001: Smooch
Sixteen-year-old aspiring journalist January James, a pushy girl named Chloe, and the handsome Seth, become involved with a cursed bracelet. The narrative in part parallels Chloe, Queen of Denial.

Moss, Marissa
Max's Mystical Logbook
2004: New York: Scholastic
Max records his account of his school project on Egypt, which he's undertaken with his best friend. They hope that an Egyptian love potion will reunite Max's divorced mother and father.

Pascal, Francine
SWEET VALLEY KIDS HAIR RAISER SUPER SPECIAL
3 -- Curse on Elizabeth
A field trip takes the kids to an exhibit of artifacts from the tomb of King Ramses XIII, which is alleged to be cursed.

Pol, Anne-Marie
DANSE
14 -- Si j'était Cléopâtre... [French: If I Were Cleopatra...]
2001: Pocket
Nina's family has moved to Cairo, and her father has decided that she must give up dancing.

Scott, Virginia M.
Balancing Act
1997: Butte
A mother tells the story of her deaf teenage daughter, who walks with a cane, and her two deaf sisters, as they deal with the breakup of the marriage while on vacation in Egypt.

Snyder, Zilpha Keatley

The Egypt Game

Newbery Honor Book

1967: New York: Atheneum
The kids are pretending to be in ancient Egypt, but something truly sinister is going on outside.

Wilson, Jacqueline
The Cat Mummy
2001: London: Doubleday
2001: London: BBC Consumer Publishing (audio)
2002: London: Random House
2002: Yearling
2002: London: BBC Cover to Cover (audio)
Mabel can't bear to part with her cat Verity, even after Verity dies. Then she remembers that the ancient Egyptians mummified their dead cats....

Woodson, Marion
My Brother's Keeper 7/06
2002: Raincoast Books
The remains of a Egyptian-inspired cult from the 1930s haunt 13-year-old Sarah on Vancouver Island.

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MYSTERY & ADVENTURE: Ancient Setting

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MYSTERY & ADVENTURE: Modern Setting

Akers, Floyd (= Baum, Frank L.)
THE BOY FORTUNE HUNTERS
The Boy Fortune Hunters in Egypt
1908: Chicago: Reilly & Britton

Appleton, Victor
DON STURDY
Don Sturdy in the Tombs of Gold, or The Old Egyptian's Great Secret
1925: New York: Grosset & Dunlap

Arthur, Robert
ALFRED HITCHCOCK AND THE THREE INVESTIGATORS
The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy
1965: New York: Random House
1978: New York: Random House
Mystery surrounds a mummy and its coffin in an American museum.

Avi
No More Magic
1990: Bullseye
Among the suspects in the theft of Chris's bicycle are a one-legged nurse and a mummy.

Blaine, John
RICK BRANT SCIENCE ADVENTURE
16 -- The Egyptian Cat Mystery
1961: New York: Grosset & Dunlap

Borer, M. Cathcart
Taha the Egyptian
1937: London: Pitman
A story about an excavation. The author participated in Sir Robert Mond's expedition to Armant.

Bradman, Tony
SAM, THE GIRL DETECTIVE
3 -- The Case of the Missing Mummy
1990
A mummy goes missing from a museum. It's up to Sam Marlow, girl detective, to investigate.

Carlton, Lucy
BARBIE LANE/TRIPLE NICKLE
5 -- Mystery of the Egyptian Mummy
1955

Christian, Catherine
The Pharaoh's Secret
1940: London: Lutterworth Press
Two girls go in search of the Tomb of the Forsaken Pharaoh.

Christie, Agatha
HERCULE POIROT
"The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb"
1998: Detective Stories, ed. Philip Pullman: Larousse Kingfisher Chambers [intro by Nick Hardcastle]
[for other publication, see in Mysteries & Thrillers]
Belgian Inspector Poirot investigates deaths associated with the excavation of a royal tomb.

Cooney, Caroline B.
Mummy
2000: New York: Scholastic
A teen with a reputation as a "good girl" but a secret longing to do bad helps her friends steal a mummy from a museum.

Dixon, Franklin W.
HARDY BOYS
17 -- The Secret Warning
1938: New York: Grosset & Dunlap
1966: New York: Grosset & Dunlap
The boys investigate the loss of a pharaoh's treasure in a mysterious shipwreck.

63 -- The Mummy Case
1980: New York: Grosset & Dunlap/Wanderer (illus. Leslie H. Morrill)
Following the theft of five statuettes from a museum, the boys head for Egypt.

Doyle, Peter Reese
THE DARING ADVENTURES
2 -- Trapped in Pharaoh's Tomb
1993: Colorado Springs: Focus on the Family.
Mark, Penny, and their friend David find themselves trapped in an Egyptian tomb by their arch-enemy, Hoffman.

Edwards, Leo
JERRY TODD
Jerry Todd and the Whispering Mummy
1924

Frazer, Renee
Loyal to the Boy Sheik
1949: Schoolgirls' Own Library 65

Gilmour, Anne
Queen Shemarna's Secret
1960: Schoolgirls' Own Library 328
A tablet reveals the location of a buried Egyptian treasure.

Hardy, Tad
TRUTHQUEST
3 -- Treasure of the Hidden Tomb
1997: Chariot Victor
On a dig in Egypt, Rachel finds a golden statue of a beetle containing a mummified thumb.

Hechtman, Betty Jacobson
Blue Schwartz and Nefertiti's Necklace: A Mystery with Recipes
2006: Brown Barn
The people Blue is babysitting for accuse her of stealing a necklance that once belonged to the Egyptian queen.

Heide, Forence Parry
SPOTLIGHT CLUB
The Mystery of the Mummy's Mask
1979: Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Co. (illus. Seymour Fleishman)
The Club becomes involved with a mummy mask and some shady art dealers.

Heisenfelt, Kathryn
ANN SHERIDAN
Ann Sheridan and the Sign of the Sphinx
1933: Whitman

Hildick, E. W.
The Case of the Muttering Mummy
1986: Simon & Schuster
A boy's purchase of a cat statuette at a museum attracts the attention of an Egyptologist.

Holding, James
The Mystery of the False Fingertips
1964: New York: Harper & Row
An Egyptian king's gold false fingertips are stolen from a museum.

Hope, Laura Lee
BOBBSEY TWINS
59 -- Their Camel Adventure
1966
A priceless horse statue that a wealthy Egyptian wants to give to the museum, and a valuable racing camel, are stolen.

NEW BOBBSEY TWINS
14 -- The Mystery of the Missing Mummy

Jacks, Marie
CLUE
13 -- Revenge of the Mummy
1996: New York: Scholastic

Judd, Frances K.
KAY TRACEY
1 -- The Sacred Feather
1963: Berkley Highland
A fire-worshiping Egyptian cultist kidnaps Kay.

Keene, Carolyn
NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS SUPER MYSTERY
Secrets of the Nile

Kelland, Clarence Buddington
MARK TIDD
Mark Tidd in Egypt
1925: American Boy Magazine (March, December) (parts of a serialization?)
1925: Sprague Publishing Co.
1926: Harper & Brothers
1926: Grosset & Dunlap

Kendrick, Michael
TRENT HOUSE SCHOOL
The Curse of Set-Ra-Kahtep
1948: London: Gerald G. Swann (illus.)
An Egyptian mummy.

Knox, Thomas W.
THE BOY TRAVELLERS
The Boy Travellers in the Far East Part Fourth: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Egypt and the Holy Land
1882
1883: New York: Harper & Brothers

Leonard, Bertha
"The Mummy at Greylands"
n.d. (1940s-1950s): Popular Stories for Boys: London: Birn Brothers

Lesley, Martine
MORGAN SWIFT
Morgan Swift and the Riddle of the Sphinx
1986: New York: Random House
1988: Hippo Paperback
A rock video tour turns into terror for high school chemistry teacher Morgan Swift and her students.

Logan, Claudia (text) & Sweet, Melissa (illustrations)
The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt
2002: New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
The visit by a family to the Giza cemetery 7000 X expedition led by (real) Egyptologist George Andrew Reisner in 1924-25, as recorded in the diary of young Will Hunt. Includes factual sidebars, numerous illustrations etc.

Lord, Athena V.
Z.A.P., Zoe, and the Musketeers
1992: New York: Macmillan
Two Greek-American kids find all kinds of trouble in Albany, New York, in the year 1941 -- including with some mummies in the local museum.

Maddock, R. B.
BRITANNIC SERIES
Corrigan and the Tomb of Opi
1957: London: Thomas Nelson & Sons
Bob Corrigan and his friend Shrimp encounter the reincarnated high priest of Opi among the pyramids.

Masterman-Smith, Virginia
The Great Egyptian Heist
1982: New York: Scholastic/Four Winds Press
Angel and her two friends find diamonds in an Egyptian coffin.

Meyer, Kai
DIE MERLE-TRILOGIE
1 -- Die Fliessende Konigin
2001

translations
English:
FLOWING QUEEN/DARK REFLECTIONS
1 -- The Flowing Queen
2005: London: Egmont
2005: New York: Margaret K. McElderry (as The Water Mirror)

Merle, the 14-year-old apprentice of a Venetian magic mirror maker, lives in a time when Egypt's amy of mummies has conquered much of the world, but Venice is protected by the Flowing Queen.

2 -- Das Steinerne Licht
2002

translations
English:
2 -- The Stone Light
2006: London: Egmont
2006: New York: Margaret K. McElderry

Serafin, a thief, must become an assassin to defeat the Pharaoh with the help of a sphinx.

3 -- Das Glaserne Wort
2002

translations
English:
3 -- The Glass Word
2007: London: Egmont
2007: New York: Margaret K. McElderry

Mooser, Stephen
The Mummy's Secret
Shadow Beach Treasure Hounds
1988: Troll (illus. Leslie Merrill)
Hieroglyphs written on the back of an old photograph lead the Hounds to mystery.

Myers, Walter Dean
Tales of a Dead King
1983: New York: Morrow
Two American teens discover a plot to rob a royal tomb.

Newman, Robert
The Case of the Vanishing Corpse
1990: New York: Atheneum
A woman, jewels, and a corpse all vanish. Is the priest next door, devoted to an ancient Egyptian cult, involved?

Nixon, Joan Lowery
The House on Hackman's Hill
1985: New York: Apple/Scholastic
The dreadful goings-on in an old house are associated with a stolen Egyptian mummy; is Anubis stalking the mansion?

CASEBUSTERS
1 -- The Statue Walks at Night
1995: Disney Press
Is the theft at the museum an inside job?

Patchin, Frank Gee
THE BATTLESHIP BOYS
3 -- The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service, or, Earning New Ratings in European Seas
1911: Akron, Ohio: Saalfield
Adventures in the desert and in secret passages beneath a pyramid are in store for the boys when on shore leave in Egypt.

Paulsen, Gary
The Curse of the Cobra
1977 (illus. John Asquith)
Malcom, more usually known as Mallard, goes in search of a missing ancient Egyptian amulet.

Peck, Richard
BLOSSOM CULP
Blossom Culp and the Sleep of Death
New York: Dell
1994: New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers
When a mummy goes missing, Blossom and Alexander might be next.

Powell, Diane M.
"The Menkausus Affair"
1964: Cherry Ames Girls Annual 1964: World Distributers Ltd
Two girls find danger while on vacation in Egypt. (Not a Cherry Ames story.)

Rainey, William
Abdulla: The Mystery of an Ancient Papyrus
No Date (1928): London: Wells Gardner & Darton
The search for a lost treasure.

Richards, Frank
"The Shadowed Schoolboy"
Egyptian Holiday series
1932: Magnet (serialized nos. 1277 - 1284)
1969: London: Howard Baker (as Billy Bunter in the Land of the Pyramids: The Magnet)
1971: London: W. Collins & Sons (as Billy Bunter's Bad Luck)
1972:New York: Armada Books (as Billy Bunter on the Nile)
British schoolboys get mixed up with the Golden Scarab of A-Menah. Possibly also published as Billy Bunter's Bargain (1971: Amarda)

Richards, Justin
The Web of Anubis
The Invisible Detective 6
2004
Four English children who in the 1930s act as "the Invisible Detective" must go looking for an exhibit that has disappeared from the British Museum, while in the present, Arthur and Sarah have to untangle the rest of the mystery.

Roy, Lillian Elizabeth
Polly in Egypt
Polly Brewster
1928: New York: Grosset & Dunlop
Polly, having just departed wartime Hong Kong, cruises the Nile on Mr. Dalken's yacht.

Schultz, Barbara
The Secret of the Pharaohs
1962: Bobbs Merrill
Adventure set in Egypt in 1881.

Shaffer, Robert
The Crocodile Tomb
1957: New York: Henry Holt (illus. Laszlo Matulay)
A quest for the mummies of sacred crocodiles hidden during the time of the "heretic king" Akhenaten.

Sibley, Raymond
The Mummy
1985: Loughborough: Ladybird
The presence of a mummy disrupts life for three students at Oxford University. Relling of "Lot No. 249" by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Silverberg, Robert
Mask of Akhnaten
1965: New York: Macmillan
A boy and his uncle, a journalist, accompany an archaeological excavation in preparation for the building of the Aswan High Dam.

Smeaton, Oliphant
A Mystery of the Pacific
1899
Travelers encounter Atlanteans (who seem to have Egyptian cultural influences) and lost descendents of the Romans in the South Pacific.

Steiner, Barbara
The Mummy
1996: Point Horror/Scholastic UK
Lana loves ancient Egypt, and even wears her hair like a queen. Someone wants her to make a romantic connection with Prince Nefra, which would be great if he hadn't died thousands of years ago.

Stott, Jennet
Abby's Egyptian Adventure!
Star Girl 16
2000: Star Girl Book Club
Abby and Emily crack the code of strange symbols they find in a mysterious diary.

Strickland Taylor, Irene
In Quest of Hatasu
No date: London: The Religious Tract Society
The adventures of Eleanor and Dick in Egypt; "Hatasu" is presumably Hatshepsut.

Thomas, Jerry D.
DETECTIVE ZACK BIBLE ADVENTURE
2 -- Detective Zack and the Secret in the Sand
1993: Pacific Press
Zack and his dad help Dr. Doone film a documentary about archaeology and the Bible.

Trout, Richard
HARBOR LIGHTS
3 -- Falcon of Abydos: Oracle of the Nile
2001: Langmarc

Twain, Mark (= Clemens, Samuel)
TOM SAWYER
Tom Sawyer Abroad
1894
Aerie Books/Wal-Mart
Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and Jim travel abroad in a balloon, with a stop at the pyramids of Giza.

Vincent, John
JAMES BOND JR.
Sandblast
1993: Fantail
Pharaoh Fearo is using ancient treasures to finance his scheme to seize all the world's oil supply. James must battle the Pharaoh and his S.C.U.M. allies to save the world from blackmail.

Voigt, Cynthia
The Vandemark Mummy
1991: New York: Atheneum
1992: London: HarperCollins
The twelve-year-old son and teen-age daughter of a classics professor must discover why thieves are interested in the college's collection.

Wallace, Karen
LADY VIOLET'S CASEBOOK
The Secret of the Crocodiles
2005: London: Simon & Schuster UK
Lady Violet Winters, her parents, and their male American ward encounter tomb robbers in Egypt.

Warner, Gertrude Chandler
BOXCAR CHILDREN
88 -- The Mystery of the Mummy's Curse
2002: Albert Whitman & Co.
The local museum is hosting an exhibit of ancient Egyptian artifiacts, including a 4,000-year-old mummy, and ever since the mummy arrived, things have been going wrong.

Westerman, Percy F.
The Westow Talisman
Standish
1934: London: Blackie & Son (illus. W. E. Wigfull)
Colin Standish must fly a stone from the British Isles to Egypt.

Western, Gail
Her Strange Role in Egypt
1950: Schoolgirls' Own Library 85

(return to table of contents)

FANTASY & HORROR: Ancient Setting

(including retold myths & legends)

Baikie, James
Wonder Tales of the Ancient World
1915 (illus.)

Boshinski, Blanche
Aha and the Jewel of Mystery
1968: New York: Parents' Magazine Press
An Egyptian cat accidentally winds up in Mesopotamia.

Bradshaw, Gillian
The Dragon and the Thief
1991: New York: Greenwillow
An Egyptian fisherman helps a dragon named Hathor.

The Land of Gold
1992: New York: Greenwillow
The dragon Hathor and her Egyptian friends aid a Nubian princess. Sequel to The Dragon and the Thief

Brooksbank, F. H.
Legends of Ancient Egypt: Stories of Egyptian Gods and Heroes
1914: London: George Harrap & Co. (illus Evelyn Paul)

Clarke, Mary Byrd
Sothis, Star of Egypt
1999: Disc-US Books
Gifted with telepathy, virgin priestess of Isis in Alexandria finds herself in love with a priest and in contact with the Cosmic Council.

Dickinson, Peter
The Blue Hawk

Guardian Award

1985: Puffin
After removing the sacrificial blue hawk from the temple, the boy-priest Tron finds himself in secret passages, fighting battles and dark intrigues. Set in an Egyptianesque kingdom.

Dolch, Edward & Dolch, Marguerite
Stories From Old Egypt
1964: Champaign, IL: Garrard Publishing (illus. Gordon Laite)

Fischer, Inge
Christophe in Egypt: The Odyssey of Pharaoh's Cat
1968: New York: Lion Press
The adventures of an Egyptian court cat.

Fisher, Catherine
ORACLE PROPHECIES
1 -- The Oracle
2003: London: Hodder & Stoughton/Hodder's Children's Books
2004: New York: Greenwillow (as The Oracle Betrayed)
A teenage girl, an atheist in an Egyptian-like culture, discovers that the god she serves is real.

2 -- The Archon
2004: London: Hodder & Stoughton/Hodder's Children's Books
New York: Greenwillow (as The Sphere of Secrets)
A god appoints a teenage boy to be king, but the General craves the royal power.

3 -- The Scarab
2005: London: Hodder & Stoughton/Hodder's Children's Books
2006: New York: Greenwillow (as The Day of the Scarab)
The forces of good scatter -- including into the underworld -- in an attempt to defeat the General and restore order.

Green, Roger Lancelyn
"Isis and Osiris"
1967: Tales of Ancient Egypt, Roger Lancelyn Green: Puffin
1996: Cricket 24.2 (October) (pp. 11-16) (cover illus. Rui de Oliveira; int. illus. Friso Henstra)
A retelling of this ancient Egyptian story, in which the god Osiris is murdered by his brother; Osiris's wife Isis goes in search of his body.

Tales of Ancient Egypt
1967: Puffin
Puffin Audiobooks (abridged; read by Alex Jennings, Rula Lenska, David Rintoul)
A collection of stories retold from ancient Egyptian myth and history.

Marston, Elsa
The Ugly Goddess
2002
A statue of the hippopotamus-goddess Taweret advises a fourteen-year-old Egyptian princess, a young Greek soldier, and a lowly shopkeeper on a quest to save Egypt.

Roberts, Katherine
The Great Pyramid Robbery
The Seven Fabulous Wonders
Collins Voyager
On the verge of adulthood, a boy gifted with magical powers accidentally becomes involved with a theft from the pyramid of Khufu.

Stewart, Mary
"The Doomed Prince"
1916: Tell Me a Hero Story, Mary Stewart: (illus. S. M. Palmer): Fleming H. Revell Co.
A retelling of the ancient Egyptian story of a prince fated to be killed by a snake, a crocodile, or a dog.

Untermeyer, Louis
Cat O' Nine Tales
1971: American Heritage Press (illus. Lawrence Di Fiori)
A cat tells the nine stories of his nine lives, the first one being in ancient Egypt.

Weulersse, Odile
Les Pilleurs de sarcophages [French: The Sarcophagus Sackers]
2001: Paris: Hachette Jeunesse
A boy named Tetiki experiences life-endangering adventures.

(return to table of contents)

FANTASY & HORROR: Modern Setting

Adams, Andy
BIFF BREWSTER
9 -- The Egyptian Scarab Mystery
1963: New York: Grosset & Dunlap
Armed with a golden scarab, Biff finds his quest for a lost tomb dogged by the mummy of its architect and the cult of Thoth.

Allen, Derek
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
While awaiting full resurrection, the spirit of an Egyptian princess temporarily possesses the daughter of an Egyptologist. Retelling of Jewel of the Seven Stars by Bram Stoker.

Applegate, K. A.
Everworld
9 -- Inside the Illusion
Everworld 9
2001: New York: Scholastic
Five high school students brought into the bizarre world of Everworld (created by gods of several pantheons) search for the mother of one of their group in Egypt, which has been conquered by Amazons. Other books in this series might feature Egyptian gods as characters.

Armitage, Vincent
The Valley of Secrets! A Vivid Yarn of Amazing and Sensational Adventure in Egypt
1926: London: Amalgamated/Boys' Friend Library

Aston, B.G.
The Eye of the God
1927: London: Blackie (illus. A. E. Haswell Miller)
Descendants of the ancient Egyptians survive underground.

Barcott, Richard
The Mummies' Treasure
2002: Lightning Source
Two boys tangle with tomb-robbers and the mummies guarding the tomb they are trying to plunder.

Bellair, John
The Curse of the Blue Figurine
1983: New York: Bantam Skylark
A boy fascinated by ancient Egyptian magic finds himself trapped in a magical world.

Burchett, Jan & Vogler, Sara
LITTLE TERRORS
Bones and Groans
1998: Macmillan Children's Books
George and his seven small spook friends must help King Tootingham find his Mummy.

Cary, Kate
GEMMA JAMES
Gemma James' Egyptian Adventure
1997: (Australia): FunFax
Gemma findss an ancient box containing jewelry and a weird poem hidden in a cave.

Coffin, M. T. (= Stanley, George Edward)
SPINETINGLERS
15 -- Escape from the Haunted Museum
1996: New York: Avon
Exhibits in a museum -- from New Guinea headhunters to Egyptian mummies -- come to life, to the horror of the kids caught in the museum after closing.

Cronin, Bernard
The Treasure of the Tropics
1928: London: Ward Lock
Egyptian civilization survives beneath Australia.

Curry, Jane Louise
The Egyptian Box
2002: Margaret McElderry
A girl finds that the shabti figurine she has inherited from her uncle is magical -- and her servant.

Daniels, Zoe
THE YEAR OF THE CAT
1 -- The Dream
1995: New York: Berkley Pub