My best friend/cousin is going on a two week honeymoon to Egypt. I'm looking for a nice gift for an upcoming Egyptian themed couple's shower. She's an avid reader and I thought some books set in Egypt would be a nice gift. I'm sure she'll have already purchased travel books so I'm looking for something more along the lines of fiction books set in Egypt. Any ideas?

Mahfouz is an obvious choice -- I read The Beginning and the End while I was in Cairo, and it really has a sense of place (plus its one of my favorite Mahfouz books). And any part of the Cairo trilogy or Midaq Alley.

If she likes mysteries/adventure books - there is a whole series by Elizabeth Peters.

Over the course of many, many books - the series tells the story of a family of archaeologists exploring the tombs of Egypt, starting in the mid-late 1800s and going on into the early 1900s. The main heroine is Amelia Peabody - a fun, "ahead of her time" woman! And since your friend in on her honeymoon - I think she'll enjoy the relationship between Amelia and her husband.

They are fun, easy reads and really give you a sense of history and geography. As much as it is fiction - a lot of the names, places, dates are true to fact.

While the books can be read in any order, I would recommend starting with the first few. Here's a web site you can check out.

http://www.ameliapeabody.com/

I heartily "second" the Amelia Peabody series. What a hoot! Very camp.

-doo

There are some interesting and pretty well written mystery stories set around the turn of the last century (I think that means the 18th/19th centuries) in Cairo by Michael Pearson. The country was ruled by an Egyptian in theory, but it really was an English colony. Unlike Emelia Peabody, the main character, who is English, likes Egyptians and Egyptian culture and is not so fond of English culture.

I'd recommend them over the Peabody books.

There's another book, The Yacoubian Building, which is contemporary, very well written, and well received in Egyptian. He's the subject of an article in last Sunday's NYT magazine.

Oh now sunshine......I always found the Peabody books very Egypt-friendly! !!!!

I seem to remember her using terms for Egyptians that are not PC and maybe some pejorative terms, but I could be wrong.

sunshine - I don't remember anything blatant like that - altho it is written in the past (late 1800s - early 1900s) so it's possible that something that was common then is not so common now. Orthat the meaning of terms have changed.

It's also possible (I've read all the books but it's been a while) that non-PC terms were used, but they would not have been used by the main characters. There are certainly bits that "show" the prejudices of foreign visitors to Cairo/Egypt but - if anything - the "family" in the book consider themselves more Egyptian than English and are quite "put out" by those who act disrespectfully.

The author is an Egyptologist - which helps to make the stories interesting.

As a lover of mysteries, a frustrated archeologist, and someone who lived in Cairo....these books were great fun! At times quite "campy" - as doohicky mentioned, but quite interesting (and rather addictive!).

River God by Wilbur Smith is great historical fiction. His other books Warlock and Seventh Scroll are also great.

cj

Thanks for the tips everyone!

Ooop, hit "post" too early. I had more to say! I was glad to see a recommendation for Mahfouz. I came across it in an Amazon search earlier in the week and it looks really promising. I've read an Elizabeth Peters book once before and for the life of me can't remember if I liked it or not! Another book I came across was a memoir titled "The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World". The description sure sounds interesting.

Lawrence Durrell wrote a set of four novels, The Alexandria Quartet, that are well-known. I didn't read them but a Former Beloved did and couldn't put them down.

The Alexandria Quartet books are great books. Unfortunately, that wonderful, cosmopolitan Alexandria no longer exists, so many people go to Alex looking for Justine and are quite disapppointed.

Is she into fiction? If so, I, too would recommend Naguib Mahfouz, 1988 Nobel prize winner for literature. And, it's not Michael Pearson, but Michael Pearce, with his series on the Mamur Zapt, British head of the Secret Police, when Egypt was ostensibly not under British rule... The series is OK, not as cute as Elizabeth Peters who doesn't do much for me.
And, what about Monsieur Poirot, <i>Death on the Nile</i>?

Also, a good anthology of Egyptian mythology would really help her get around and understand the temples.

A search on Amazon came up with some ancient Egyptian erotica, handy on a honeymoon...
http://tiny.cc/0oqdx

I read Palace Walk by Nagib Mahfouz and it was interesting. He is an Egyptian writer whose stories are about life in Cairo.

There is also a series that I read several years ago by Christian Jacq about the life of Ramses II. A combo of history, mythology, and soap opera all rolled into one.

I don't really know how historically accurate they are - but I remember them being a fun, easy, entertaining read!!!

I love &quot;Death on the Nile&quot; - thanks so much for reminding me of that book. I think it's a must since they'll be taking a Nile cruise for a small portion of their trip. I'm also definitely getting the Mahfouz book. It sounds so interesting and maybe she'll let me borrow it when she gets back! The erotica book definitely gave me an idea... The shower is this Saturday so I'm going to the bookstore today to stock up! Thanks for all of the recommendations!

Not a book, but what about a tape of Umm Kulthum's music to get her in the mood?

The book that launched the trip my best friend and I plan to take to Egypt was <I>Mara, Daughter of the Nile</I> which we read in elementary school. I gave her a copy for her 60th birthday!

Mahfouz's <I>Cairo Trilogy</I> is a must. Be careful if you read it while in Cairo. M. was attacked on the street in Cairo late in his life (stabbed, I believe) because of his liberal views.

I read <I>The Egyptologist</I> huddled in the bathroom of a hotel in Cincinnati in the middle of the night while there to work on the 2004 election campaign. At least my husband got a good night's sleep.

I found the Christian Jacq Ramses books to be pretty smarmy, but confess to having read all five of them!