ABSTRACT
Mahfouz’s career as novelist began with three novels set in Ancient Egypt, the first of which was published in 1939. His preoccupation with the history of Ancient Egypt goes back, however, several years to 1931 when, still a student, he published a translation of an English text with the title Ancient Egypt1 by one James Baikie. The original was published in London in 1912 as part of a series entitled ‘Peeps at Many Lands’2 aimed apparently at young readers in English. The translation, on the other hand, with the title Mir al-Qadima appeared in the ‘Publications of Al-Majalla al-Jadida’ (The New Review) published by Salama Musa,3 who, as we have seen, encouraged Mahfouz at the beginning of his career.
