The Collector's Daughter: A Novel of the Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb

Fictional Account of Finding King Tut's Tomb This is a pretty good novel. I had to keep telling myself that all of the people are fictional because it gets pretty sad sometimes. As fiction, I am not at all sure that the contrived sadness is necessary. It certainly made me take much more time reading than I'm used to doing. The structure of the book goes from when our main character was a young woman in the 1920s to the 1970s when she is old, having strokes and losing her memory. It works well, but it is so sad to watch a wonderful and smart young woman become a shell of herself in a care facility. There is 'curse of the tomb' stuff that floats around through the entire book. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

As a lifelong lover of ancient history, especially Egypt's, I was excited to read there was new historical fiction about the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb, focusing on the daughter of the man who funded that expedition. Plus, that funder was Lord Canarvon, the VERY same British aristocrat whose house, Highclere Castle, was used as the home for the successful TV series, Downton Abbey. Win, win, right? Um, not exactly. While the novel does follow the life of Lady, Evelyn "Eve" Herbert (Canarvon's daughter), including her involvement in the discovery of Tut's tomb -- it does not make for a compelling book. There were definitely many aspects that held my interest: • the discovery of Tut's tomb. • the infamous curse surrounding that tomb. • the relationship between archaeologist Howard Carter and Lord Canarvon. • the access Eve had to these historically significant events, at a time when women were not generally involved much outside the home. • and the loving relationship between Eve and her husband. But at other times, the book felt rambling and without focus. Because so many other aspects were included that seem peripheral to the main story, but nevertheless commanded my time and attention. Almost as though the author, Gill Paul, felt she HAD to include ALL the research she did, even if it didn't enhance the primary storyline. The result: as the book progressed, I became increasingly uncertain what the book was supposed to be: • Was is historical fiction about finding Tut's tomb or Eve's life story? • Was it about British debutantes and their romances? • Was this a medical story of one woman's experience with multiple strokes? • Was it a moral treatise on who should "own" ancient artifacts? • Was it an exploration of Tut's "curse" and spiritualism in the 1920s? If you share my interest in Egyptian antiquities, THE COLLECTOR'S DAUGHTER is probably worth your time. If not, I'm not so sure.