Description of Egypt

The great nineteenth-century British traveler Edward William Lane (1801-76) was the author of a number of highly influential works. In 1831, publication of one of his greatest works, Description of Egypt was dropped, mainly for financial reasons, by the publishing firm of John Murray. The manuscript was sold to the British Library by Lane's widow in 1891, and was salvaged for publication as a hardcover book by Jason Thompson, nearly 170 years later. Now available in paperback, this book takes the form of a journey through Egypt from north to south, with descriptions of all the ancient monuments and contemporary life that Lane explored along the way.