The Pharaoh and the Priest: An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt
Prus, Bolesław, 1847-1912Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019
Rating 4.4- Word count
- 1.4M words
- Chapters
- 142
Tags
English Originals Historical Fiction Historical ReappraisalPortrait GalleryPower GamePower GamesExotic CultureSummary
Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Pharaoh and the Priest: An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt by Bolesław PrusAuthor: Prus, Bolesław, 1847-1912,Language: English, Class: PG: Language and Literatures: Slavic (including Russian), Languages and Literature, Release Date: Mar 6, 2011Editor's review
The Pharaoh and the Priest is one of the major works of Bolesław Prus, a leading figure of Polish Positivism. Set in the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt, it builds a sweeping narrative of statecraft, religious power, and social reform around the power struggle between a fictional Pharaoh Ramses XIII and a dominant priestly caste. Prus, a master of nineteenth-century Polish realist fiction, does not treat ancient Egypt as exotic spectacle; he renders power structures, bureaucratic inertia, and the dilemmas of reform with striking immediacy, so that readers can recognize the predicament of reformers facing entrenched interests in any era. The novel is long, its plot driven by court intrigue, military crisis, and the vicissitudes of individual lives, and it suits readers with patience for historical fiction who wish to understand institutional problems through literature. Two threads are worth following: the Pharaoh's political reform aimed at curbing priestly power, and the young protagonist's growth amid love, faith, and duty. This public-domain edition is an English translation in a nineteenth-century English style, whose syntax and rhythm require some adjustment.Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who enjoy historical fiction, especially set in ancient Egypt
- Readers interested in power structures, reform, and institutional struggle
- Students and enthusiasts able to take on a long nineteenth-century realist narrative
- Readers who wish to know Prus, a Polish realist writer, through his fiction
Not a good fit for
- Readers of popular fiction seeking fast pacing and strong suspense
- Readers who prefer the Chinese original and are unwilling to read an English translation
- Readers unfamiliar with ancient Egyptian history who are unwilling to consult background materials
Reading tips
- Read the preface or look up the background of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt before starting, to ease the burden of names and institutions.
- Treat the conflict between Pharaoh and the priests as the main line; minor characters and subplots can be sorted out on a later rereading.
- Slow down at passages of extended discussion and note the author's observations on the dilemmas of reform.
- The English sentences are long; set a daily reading quota to avoid breaking off because of the slow pace.
About the publisher
Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.
Contents
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FAQ
Is this novel based on real history?
The novel is set in ancient Egypt, but core figures such as Pharaoh Ramses XIII and the plot are the author's invention. Prus uses a historical framework to discuss power, religion, and reform, and the book should not be read as reliable history; a general history of ancient Egypt can be used to compare backgrounds.Can I read this e-book if my English is not good?
This is a nineteenth-century English translation with long sentences and formal vocabulary. If your English is modest, read a Chinese translation or introductory reviews first, then attempt the English original, advancing gradually with a dictionary and notes.Why would a Polish writer produce a story set in ancient Egypt?
Prus was a nineteenth-century Polish realist, and though The Pharaoh and the Priest draws on ancient Egypt, it embodies his thinking about the social reform, national fate, and institutional inertia of his own time. Understanding the author's historical context helps reveal the contemporary concerns beneath the novel's surface.This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Prus, Bolesław, 1847-1912 AuthorBolesław Prus (1847–1912) was a Polish writer known for his novels. His work The Pharaoh and the Priest: An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt is set in ancient Egypt and uses historical narrative to explore tensions among power, religion, and society; another work, O odkryciach i wynalazkach, deals with discoveries and inventions, showing that his writing was not limited to fiction. The library holds three of his works, including a duplicate record of The Pharaoh and the Priest. Information in the library on his nationality, dates, and biographical details is limited, and such details fall within the range of common public knowledge, so they are not elaborated here. Overall, his historical novels are notable for their attention to setting and human circumstance and combine popular appeal with intellectual substance, giving him a degree of influence in Polish literature.