The Visitors: A Novel
3/5
()
About this ebook
From the New York Times bestselling author Sally Beauman comes an intensely atmospheric, spellbinding re-creation of Lord Carnarvon's hunt for Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
Sent abroad to Egypt in 1922 to recover from the typhoid that has killed her mother, eleven-year-old Lucy becomes swept up in the feverish excitement surrounding the search for Tutankhamun's tomb. Through her friendship with Frances, the daughter of an American archaeologist, Lucy witnesses first-hand the intrigue, politics, and passions surrounding this quest. Raised in a world in which adults are often cold and unpredictable, Lucy forms an immediate bond with Frances. Their friendship sustains them throughout childhood, guides them through the class-ridden colonial society in which they grow up, and takes them into an adult life that promises fulfilment—until it veers toward heartbreak.
Deftly constructed and transportive, peopled by powerful characters, moving from the 1920s to the present day, The Visitors is a timeless coming-of-age narrative set against the backdrop of profound historical change. But how is such change documented? Whose testimony is reliable? Which witness should we believe?
Looking back on her past much later in life, viewing it from the perspective of age, Lucy tells a deeply moving story of love and loss, of mistakes made and incendiary secrets concealed. She reveals the circumstances that lie behind the most celebrated discovery ever made in the Valley of the Kings, a discovery clouded by deception, in which triumph swiftly turned to tragedy; it is a story, as she comes to see, whose truths are both elusive and occluded, one that mirrors her own. As Lord Carnarvon and the archaeologist Howard Carter force the desert to yield its treasures, Lucy reveals the extremes to which people are driven by desire—even when these extremes involve building a life around a lie.
Sally Beauman
Sally Beauman was born in Devon, England, and is a graduate of Cambridge University. She began her career as a critic and writer for New York magazine and continued to write for leading periodicals in the US and the UK after returning to England. In 1970, she became the first recipient of the Catherine Pakenham Award for journalism, and at the age of twenty-four, was appointed editor of Queen magazine. Beauman has written for the New Yorker, the Sunday Times, and Telegraph Magazine, where she was arts editor. Her novels, which include the New York Times–bestselling sensation Destiny, have been translated into over twenty languages and are bestsellers worldwide. In addition to her works of fiction, Beauman has published two nonfiction books based on the history and work of the Royal Shakespeare Company: The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Centenary Production of Henry V (edited by Beauman, with a foreword by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, 1976), and The Royal Shakespeare Company: A History of Ten Decades (1982). Sally Beauman is married to the actor Alan Howard. They divide their time between London and a remote island in the Hebrides. They have one son and two grandchildren.
Read more from Sally Beauman
Destiny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebecca's Tale: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dark Angel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Visitors
Related ebooks
Serpent Box: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Autumn Leaves, 1922: A Kiki Button Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Shadowed Fate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Postmistress of Nong Khai Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Solace of Stars: A Hanneke Bauer Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Porcelain Moon: A Novel of France, the Great War, and Forbidden Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Chateau by the River Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hannah's Dream: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Farewell Tour: A Historical Novel of One Woman's Life, Love, and Career in Country Music Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Dazzle of the Light Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWith Great Sorrow: Paddy Series, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsApril on Paris Street Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fox's Walk: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Unfinished Season: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Printmaker's Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Summer After Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmy's Seaside Secret Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lost Queen of Crocker County: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Lady of Cotton: Hannah Greg, Mistress of Quarry Bank Mill Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5No Room For Regret Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Place For a Lady Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Down the Steep Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Spy's Reward Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Duchess at Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Peacock Summer: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Good Thief Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow Blue Is My Valley Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBand of Angels: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Love Across Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Thrillers For You
Animal Farm Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fairy Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hidden Pictures: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Perfect Marriage: A Completely Gripping Psychological Suspense Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pretty Girls: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Flicker in the Dark: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rock Paper Scissors: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Family Upstairs: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Flight: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sympathizer: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr. Mercedes: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Whisper Man: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Maidens: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The It Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Terminal List: A Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunting Party: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sometimes I Lie: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Needful Things Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Housemaid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Huntress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Golden Spoon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Thinking of Ending Things: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Good Indians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Visitors
5 ratings0 reviews