Download E-books The Mummy's Curse: The True History of a Dark Fantasy PDF

By Roger Luckhurst

Within the iciness of 1922-23 archaeologist Howard Carter and his filthy rich shopper George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, sensationally opened the tomb of Tutenkhamen. Six weeks later Herbert, the sponsor of the excursion, died in Egypt. the preferred press went wild with rumours of a curse on those that disturbed the Pharaoh's relaxation and for years each twist and switch of the destiny of the boys who have been serious about the historical discovery. lengthy brushed aside by way of Egyptologists, the mummy's curse continues to be part of well known supernatural trust. Roger Luckhurst explores why the parable has captured the British mind's eye around the centuries, and the way it has impacted on pop culture.

Tutankhamen used to be no longer the 1st curse tale to emerge in British pop culture. This booklet uncovers the 'true' tales of 2 impressive Victorian gents largely believed on the time to were cursed by means of the artefacts they introduced domestic from Egypt within the 19th century. those are extraordinary tales that weave jointly a solid of recognized writers, painters, feted squaddies, lowly smugglers, revered males of technology, disreputable society dames, and spooky spiritualists. concentrating on stories of the curse delusion, Roger Luckhurst leads us via Victorian museums, foreign exhibitions, inner most collections, the battlefields of Egypt and Sudan, and the writings of figures like Arthur Conan Doyle, Rider Haggard and Algernon Blackwood. Written in an open and available sort, this quantity is the made from over ten years learn in London's such a lot curious information. It explores how we turned fascinated by Egypt and the way this fascination used to be fuelled by way of fable, secret, and hearsay. furthermore, it offers a brand new and startling course throughout the cultural historical past of Victorian England and its colonial possessions.