Three Novels of Ancient Egypt: Khufu's Wisdom, Rhadopis of Nubia, Thebes at War

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed) From Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz: the three magnificent novelspublished in an omnibus edition for the first timethat form an ancient-Egyptian counterpart to his famousCairo Trilogy. Mahfouz reaches back thousands of years to bring us tales from his homeland's majestic early historytales of the Egyptian nobility and of war, star-crossed love, and the divine rule of the pharoahs. InKhufu's Wisdom, the legendary Fourth Dynasty monarch faces the prospect of the end of his rule and the possibility that his daughter has fallen in love with the man prophesied to be his successor.Rhadopis of Nubiais the unforgettable story of the charismatic young Pharoah Merenra II and the ravishing courtesan Rhadopis, whose love affair makes them the envy of all Egyptian society. AndThebes at Wartells the epic story of Egypt's victory over the Asiatic foreigners who dominated the country for two centuries. Three Novels of Ancient Egyptgives us a dazzling tapestry of ancient Egypt and reminds us of the remarkable artistry of Naguib Mahfouz. From the Hardcover edition.

Naguib Mahfouz was born in Cairo in 1911 and began writing when he was seventeen. A student of philosophy and an avid reader, his works range from reimaginings of ancient myths to subtle commentaries on contemporary Egyptian politics and culture. Over a career that lasted more than five decades, he wrote 33 novels, 13 short story anthologies, numerous plays, and 30 screenplays. Of his many works, most famous is The Cairo Trilogy, consisting of Palace Walk (1956), Palace of Desire (1957), and Sugar Street (1957), which focuses on a Cairo family through three generations, from 1917 until 1952. In 1988, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first writer in Arabic to do so. He died in August 2006.