ABSTRACT
Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards (1831-92) was born in London to a barrister's daughter and an army officer. She was taught at home, mainly by her mother, and flourished in literature and, under other tutelage as a teenager, in music. She contributed stories and criticism to Household Words, All the Year Round, the Saturday Review and the Morning Post. Between 1855 and 1880, she published eight novels, the last and most popular of which was Lord Brackenbury. Edwards's trip created in her a deep and long-lasting interest in Egyptian history and culture, which displaced her other literary pursuits. She spent two years researching and writing her book. She determined to work against the destruction of Egyptian antiquities and to that end was influential in the founding in 1882 of the Egyptian Exploration Fund, of which she was joint honorary secretary.
