Tuesday, March 29, 2016

The Visitors, by Sally Beauman

This book is set mainly around the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun, in the early 1920s. It is narrated by Lucy Fox-Payne, eleven years old when the story opens. She has come to Egypt in the winter of 1922, under the care of Miss Myrtle Mackenzie, still suffering the combined effects of a bout of typhoid fever and the loss of her mother to the same illness. Her father, a Fellow of Trinity College in Cambridge, never had much time for his daughter and is quite happy to ship her off with Miss Mackenzie.

Staying at the famed Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo, Lucy and Miss Mack meet the Winlocks, a family of Americans. Lucy makes friends with Frances Winlock, whose father Herbert is the director of excavations for the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Miss Mack meanwhile bonds with Helen Winlock, Frances's mother. Through this family, she and Lucy meet other archaeologists, including Howard Carter. They also meet Lady Evelyn Herbert, daughter of Lord Carnarvon, who holds the permit that allows Carter to dig in the Valley of the Kings near Thebes. When the archaeologists move on to Luxor, Lucy and Miss Mack go with them.

The story moves back and forth in time. In the present-day, the elderly Lucy is visited by Dr. Ben Fong, an American working in London on a documentary about King Tutankhamun and the discovery of the tomb. She distrusts him from the first, but his visits stir up memories, and she begins to sort through old letters and photographs, as well as her memories. The story also moves back and forth between Egypt and England, as Lucy returns home to Cambridge. Later she visits the Carnarvons at Highclere Castle, while staying with two young friends she met in Egypt, Rose and Peter. Lucy and Miss Mack manage to return to Luxor for the 1922-1923 digging season, which is of course when Howard Carter finally makes his great discovery.

I spent much of the weekend completely caught up in this book, which has layer upon layer of plot elements. I was fascinated by the sections set in Egypt. I knew the basic outline of the history of the tomb, and I've seen three different exhibits of artifacts from it (someday I hope to see them in Egypt). Reading this, I felt like I was right in the middle of the events, though naturally Lucy and Miss Mack are mainly observers. I did stop to look up photos of the real-life characters and some of the artifacts. (Ms. Beauman includes a list of characters at the beginning, with the fictional ones noted, and a section at the end with details about the lives of the real people in later years.)

The sections set in England, both in the past and the present, were interesting in different ways. I liked the older Lucy and enjoyed learning how her life had unfolded. When she returns to Cambridge the first time, she discovers that her father has installed a governess for her. Nicola Dunshire, a graduate of Girton, is a self-proclaimed bluestocking who pushes her pupil hard, and not just in her studies. She and Lucy have the most complicated relationship, and I'm still puzzling over the nuances of it. Her father lives in his rooms at college, returning only on Sundays, and Lucy spends most of her time with Miss Dunshire. (I loathed him from the start, and he did nothing to change my mind - quite the opposite.)

I had only one quibble with this book. Lucy and Frances Winlock show a great talent for eavesdropping. They regularly fade into the background, behind sofas and so on, where they overhear all kinds of fascinating information. But various adults are also prone to confide in Lucy as soon as she sits down near them. I found it hard to believe that Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter in particular would talk so freely to a young girl that they hardly know. I understand it's a plot device to convey information that Lucy otherwise wouldn't have access to, but it felt clumsy.

This book was a birthday gift, from the friend who first introduced me to Elizabeth Peters's books. I had to keep reminding myself that Amelia and Emerson were not going to make an appearance in this one. (My sister reminded me that Emerson was at this point banned from excavating in the Valley of the Kings after picking fights with various officials.) There is a bibliography of books about Egypt and archaeology, some by the real-life people of this book, and I may be looking for some of those. I see Ms. Beauman has also written several other books. Any recommendations of which to read next? (Probably not the Rebecca sequel.)

19 comments:

  1. I have loved archeology since I read my dad's copy of Gods, Graves, and Scholars back in the dark ages of my teens. This sounds like such a fun book--I'm also an Amelia Peabody fan--at first, I didn't realize it was a recent book, since you read so many vintage books from the same time period. Your reservations notwithstanding (I can tolerate a little clumsiness if the book is enjoyable overall) this book is going on the list! Sadly, I don't foresee being able to actually visit Egypt anytime soon.

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    1. I think my fascination has been more with Egypt itself, and that started with seeing the first Tutankhamun exhibit in the early 1980s.

      I don't expect to be visiting Egypt anytime soon either - but I'm still hoping for someday.

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  2. Great review -- I loved this book even though I'm convinced it was really two different novels that Beauman smashed together.

    I read her Mrs. DeWinter (or whatever her Rebecca sequel is called) and it was a crushing disappointment. So good call on avoiding it! ;)

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    1. Audra, that makes *so* much sense! The story about the tomb, and then Lucy's coming of age, right?

      For a while I thought Poppy was going to be a major part of the story - I guess I was expecting someone to solve that.

      I say it quietly, because I know many Du Maurier fans, but I didn't like Rebecca enough to want to read a sequel!

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    2. Right?? I mean, I loved both parts, but they really didn't feel cohesive to me -- and the thing with Poppy, to me, represents that. Like, did Beauman realize she couldn't find a way to deal with her, and so her Egyptian/tomb story fizzled out and she pulled out this frozen coming-of-age thing? All conjecture, but that's what I'm sticking with. ;)

      And also, I gasped as Rebecca is one of my desert island picks but I hate Jane Eyre, so I have to accept that some classics are not for everyone! ;)

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    3. I was also thinking of how Lucy's father just disappeared from the story - I really want to know that he got his just desserts :)

      I was wondering too about what Lucy was so anxious to protect from Ben Fong. If it's just that Carter & Carnavon went into the tomb, and took some things - that seems really anti-climactic.

      But I did enjoy the book - these are just quibbles! I'm glad to find someone to quibble with though :)

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    4. Yes and YES -- and I am with you on the quibbling happily! :)

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  3. Hahahaha, your friend is great for reminding you that Emerson was banned. Way to have a grip on the timeline! PS are you excited for the alleged new Elizabeth Peters book that's allegedly coming out later this year because it was allegedly pretty much done before she died anyway? I AM.

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    1. I AM TOO! though I fear it will be more Emo Ramses and His Unspoken Love. I think Ramses is a yummy hero, but I get really really really tired of him mooning over Nefret. And David just enables him :)

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  4. I've read this book! I'd just forgotten about it until I read your review. :) I admit, I liked the parts when Lucy is younger with Frances in Egypt the best; and I didn't like her father at all either. Thanks for the memories!

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it, so they are happy memories :) I really liked Miss Mack, though I had some doubts about her obsession with The Book!

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  5. I find Egypt and its archeology fascinating and read lots of books about it, including the Elizabeth Peters books. I read The Visitors and enjoyed it and am glad you did too.

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    1. I keep an eye out for books on Egyptology, but somehow I missed this one. I'm so glad my friend found it for me :)

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  6. It's a long time since I read Sally Beauman but I do like the sound of this. I remember particularly loving 'Dark Angel', but as that was more than twenty years ago when it was a brand new book please don't take that as a reliable recommendation!

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    1. I have never come across her books before, Jane, so any recommendation is appreciated, even a cautious one!

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  7. Oh, this sounds just my sort of thing - I can't resist anything vintagey Egypty.

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    1. Me either, particularly if it involves Tutankhamun's tomb!

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  8. I really disliked Dark Angel so had avoided this author for years but found this fascinating although somewhat sad and depressing.

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    1. I found it unsettling, as well as sad (I am still mourning Peter), yet it's such a compelling story. I haven't come across her other books yet, but I won't be in a hurry to read Dark Angel.

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Thank you for taking the time to read, and to comment. I always enjoy hearing different points of view about the books I am reading, even if we disagree!