ABSTRACT
Amelia Edwards was a popular writer and journalist with a passion for Egypt. When she died in 1892 she left her collection of Egyptian antiquities, together with some money, to University College London (UCL), to promote ‘the teaching of Egyptology with a view to the wide extension of the knowledge of the history, antiquities, literature, philology and art of Ancient Egypt’ (Will of Amelia Edwards, dated 8/3/1891, copy in Petrie Museum archive). Edwards clearly hoped that the new academic department she helped establish would have an impact, long term, on the wider public understanding of this ancient culture.
