A vivid and superbly written account of the unravelling of one of the great intellectual puzzles, set against the backdop of Europe in the Napoleonic era. When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, his troops were astonished to discover ancient temples, tombs and statues, all covered with hieroglyphs -- the last remnants of an unreadable script and a language lost in time. On their return Egyptomania spread rapidly and the quest to decipher hieroglyphs began in earnest. Jean-Francois Champollion was obsessed with ancient languages from a very young age, and once he heard of the unreadable ancient Egyptian text he had found the challenge to which he would dedicate his life: the decipherment of hieroglyphs. Despite poverty he made gradual progress, although he had to fight against jealous enemies, both professional and political, every step of the way -- a dangerous task when in post-Revolutionary France a slip of the tongue could mean ruin, exile or even death. Failure threatened, as he was only one of many attempting to read the hieroglyphs, and his main rival, the English Thomas Young, claimed that decipherment was imminent, but Champollion refused to be distracted and finally, in 1822, he made the decisive breakthrough: he was the first person able to read the ancient Egyptian language in well over a thousand years.

The Keys of Egypt: The Race to Read the Hieroglyphs

Lesley Adkins

Reference

Harper-Collins, London

No damage, From Nelson at the Nile to Napoleon at Waterloo.2007 1st American Edition.

The War for All the Oceans : From Nelson at the Nile to Napoleon at Waterloo

History

Roy A. Adkins

Military

Viking Press

From the Celtic god Abandinus to the pagan historian Zosimus, this dictionary contains more than 1,400 entries. Among the myriad topics covered are: deities &amp; spirits; festivals; sacrifices; temples, altars, cult objects; burial rites; writers on religion; &amp; historical religious events. Different religions within the Roman world, such as Mithraism, Druidism, Judaism &amp; Christianity, are also discussed. Entries range from brief definitions to concise essays reflecting particularly important aspects of religious practice, &amp; most include suggestions for further reading. Complete bibliography &amp; glossary. Over 120 photos &amp; line drawings. Extensive cross-references.

Dictionary of Roman Religion

Ancient Civilizations

FACTS ON FILE+

Identifies key gods, godesses, demigods, heroes, heroines, and events in the beliefs of ancient Rome

Jack Tar: Life in Nelson's Navy

World

London: Little, Brown

Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England: How our ancestors lived two centuries ago

A cultural snapshot of everyday life in the world of Jane Austen\nJane Austen, arguably the greatest novelist of the English language, wrote brilliantly about the gentry and aristocracy of two centuries ago in her accounts of young women looking for love. Jane Austen’s England explores the customs and culture of the real England of her everyday existence depicted in her classic novels as well as those by Byron, Keats, and Shelley. Drawing upon a rich array of contemporary sources, including many previously unpublished manuscripts, diaries, and personal letters, Roy and Lesley Adkins vividly portray the daily lives of ordinary people, discussing topics as diverse as birth, marriage, religion, sexual practices, hygiene, highwaymen, and superstitions.\nFrom chores like fetching water to healing with medicinal leeches, from selling wives in the marketplace to buying smuggled gin, from the hardships faced by young boys and girls in the mines to the familiar sight of corpses swinging on gibbets, Jane Austen’s England offers an authoritative and gripping account that is sometimes humorous, often shocking, but always entertaining.

Little,Brown & Co

A guide to modern archaeology, explaining techniques used by archaeologists.

An Introduction to Archeaology

Shooting Star Press, Inc.

An ntroduction to the Romans

Eagle Editions

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lesley Adkins. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lesley Adkins

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lesley Adkins. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Keys of Egypt: The Race to Read the Hieroglyphs

The War for All the Oceans : From Nelson at the Nile to Napoleon at Waterloo

Dictionary of Roman Religion

Dictionary of Roman Religion

Dictionary of Roman Religion

Jack Tar: Life in Nelson's Navy

Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England: How our ancestors lived two centuries ago

An Introduction to Archeaology

An ntroduction to the Romans