★★★★☆.5 | paperback | book twenty-four of 2022 — I was provided a free paperback Advance Uncorrected Bound Proof, and finished hardback copy from Yale University Press — thankyou!
The Story of Tutankhamun by egyptologist Garry J. Shaw is a brilliantly written new biography of the boy king, spanning from his birth and early life under his father Akhenaten’s new religious regime, all the way up to his death and the discovery and subsequent treatment of his mummy and burial goods in the twenty-first century. This is truly a wonderful addition to the centenary celebration of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon.
The Story of Tutankhamun undertakes a monumental challenge of synthesising everything that we do and do not know about Tutankhamun and displaying that information in a digestible manner that readers of all knowledge levels could not only understand, but enjoy. Shaw’s book utilises the most recent scholarship and scientific data to construct a hypothetical narrative of the boy king’s life, which I absolutely adored. Shaw draws on archaeological evidence, images, texts and all sorts of available data and research to reconstruct Tutankhamun’s life beginning in Amarna under pharaoh Akhenaten. If you aren’t familiar with the reign of Akhenaten, Egypt under this particular pharaoh was radically different as Akhenaten raised the sun disk the ‘Aten’ as the supreme deity of the region. He closed the temples and moved the capital of Egypt to Akhenaten (known today as Tell-el-Amarna). So, Tutankhamun was probably born in Amarna and was definitely born into a unique and radical time in ancient Egypt’s history. Shaw introduces us to how Tutankhamun's early life may have looked, and then goes on to give a really intimate look into just how difficult it would have been for the young boy (because he really was only a boy when he acme pharaoh), to navigate his years as king of Egypt.
Shaw then basically reconstructs the rest of Tutankhamun’s life, and the important things he undertook during his very short reign, and he does this by including as many of the artefacts found in the young king’s burial as possible. There is something deeply intimate about reconstructing the life of a boy who died over three-thousand years ago using artefacts that he would have owned, touched, used, and were deemed important enough to be buried with him to take to the next life.
Shaw doesn't finish his book at the death of Tutankhamun, but goes on to describe ancient Egypt after his death, and the following destruction of his name and image by his successors. Then, he moves thousands of years into the future, and to the incredible discovery of the tomb, and the mummy. I loved reading about the steps involved not only to the initial discovery and why it took so long to be found, but also the arduous and somewhat destructive process it was cataloguing and emptying the tomb.
This new biography of the young king doesn't necessarily add any new information to the wealth of knowledge of Tutankhamun, but that’s not the point. Garry Shaw has done a remarkable job synthesising everything we know and don’t know about Tutankhamun and created a compelling narrative-style breakdown of his life. This book is both a wonderful place for those who are new to Tutankhamun to learn about not only what was found, but how it may have been used during the king’s life, but with all of the recent scholarship to back it up. Not to mention the book is full of stunning colour images of artefacts and historical images which just adds to the tale.
If you are a lover of ancient Egypt, or you would like to learn a bit more about the household name Tutankhamun, then I could not recommend this book enough!