The Earl and the Pharaoh: From the Real Downton Abbey to the Discovery of Tutankhamun

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In 1906, his interest piqued by the excavations of the American treasure hunter Theodore Davis, Carnarvon obtained a small excavating concession near the Valley of the Kings where, the authorities thought, “he could do no harm”. Within 24 hours he had found a burial pit. “This gave rise to much excitement in the Antiquities Department which soon simmered down when the pit was found to be unfinished,” wrote Carnarvon. “Beyond finding a large, mummified cat in its case which now graces the Cairo Museum, nothing whatsoever rewarded my strenuous and very dusty endeavours.” Listening to audiobooks not only easy, it is also very convenient. You can listen to audiobooks on almost every device. From your laptop to your smart phone or even a smart speaker like Apple HomePod or even Alexa. Here’s how you can get started listening to audiobooks. I expected a book about the excavation of Tut's tomb based on this family's archives. It seems the author really wanted to dump information from the archive. It was terribly boring. Maybe readers who are interested in this particular family or Victorian aristocracy in general may like this more than I did. That would probably be a very narrow audience. I would not have chosen to read this book. Carnarvon’s life makes a good story, with plenty of Downton-esque period details – sometimes rather too many, in fact. And every now and then, the countess lets her imagination run wild, as when she assures us that Carnarvon and Tutankhamun had much in common: “both were dashing men born into a gilded lifestyle”; both suffered from poor health. And the mosquito bite which led to Carnarvon’s death from septicaemia was on his left cheek, while Tutankhamun’s famous golden mask of hammered gold was thinner in one place – on the left cheek. Uncanny? Not really.

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Inside the tomb, the explorers found King Tut’s sarcophagus and a treasure trove of astonishing artifacts: chariots and model boats, board games and paintings, a coffin made of pure gold. But these objects were more than just beautifully crafted works of art; they shed new light on Tutankhamun world and this fabled period of history, and changed our understanding of how the ancient Egyptians had lived–transforming overnight what had been formed through centuries of history and myth. The account of the discovery of the tomb is essentially a rehash of everything that most interested people already know about the event.

The makeup of the book came over as superficial and descended into lists of the aristocracy who attended various events. This left little space for any in-depth appraisal of his life.

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The Countess of Carnarvon lives at Highclere Castle, best-known to millions worldwide as the setting for the popular television programme Downton Abbey. As an author, Lady Carnarvon has written several bestselling books including Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey, Lady Catherine, and At Home at Highclere. You may not know Lady Fiona Carnarvon, but you know her country home, Highclere Castle, where the sensationally popular Downton Abbey is filmed. Here she draws on Highclere's archives to chronicle the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, financed by her forebear George Herbert, an antiquities collector and the 5th Earl of Carnarvon. Just in time for the centennial; with a 30,000-copy first printing. Library Journal Users who reposted The Earl and the Pharaoh: From the Real Downton Abbey to the Discovery of Tutankhamun, By The Countess of Carnarvon, Read by Countess of Carnarvon Inside the tomb, the explorers found King Tut's sarcophagus and a treasure trove of astonishing artifacts: chariots and model boats, board games and paintings, a coffin made of pure gold. But these objects were more than just beautifully crafted works of art; they shed new light on Tutankhamun world and this fabled period of history, and changed our understanding of how the ancient Egyptians had lived--transforming overnight what had been formed through centuries of history and myth.Inside the tomb, the explorers found King Tut’s sarcophagus and a treasure trove of astonishing artifacts: chariots and model boats, board games and paintings, a coffin made of pure gold. But these objects were more than just beautifully crafted works of art; they shed new light on Tutankhamun world and this fabled period of history, and changed our understanding of how the ancient Egyptians had lived—transforming overnight what had been formed through centuries of history and myth. Bestselling author the Countess of Carnarvon tells the thrilling behind-the-scenes story of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun on its centennial, and explores the unparalleled life of family ancestor George Herbert—the famed Egyptologist, world-traveler, and 5th Earl of Carnarvon behind it—whose country house, Highclere Castle, is the setting of the beloved series Downton Abbey. Your gift (signed book) will beavailable for collection from the Castle Gift shop. Please do not forget to collect it as we cannot post it on. I didn't get a feel of how The Earl came to go there in his early years, just 2 mentions 'oh and he went to Egypt'....lots of horse racing, golf, general travel.... Bestselling author the Countess of Carnarvon tells the thrilling behind-the-scenes story of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun on its centennial, and explores the unparalleled life of family ancestor George Herbert–the famed Egyptologist, world-traveler, and 5th Earl of Carnarvon behind it–whose country house, Highclere Castle, is the setting of the beloved series Downton Abbey.