A Journey Between Souls: The Story of a Soldier and a Pharaoh [Paperback]

Elaine Edgar (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A Journey Between Souls is the biography of Richard Adamson, the security guard who protected an ancient Pharaoh's tomb in Egypt while it was being excavated. Long-time friend Elaine Edgar has recounted the amazing story of Adamson's experiences from letters he sent to her and with the help of his old suitcase, which was filled with information relating to the tomb discovery.

The story tells of his exciting journey into the Valley of the Kings and how he slept in the tomb of Tutankhamun for seven years.

Mr. Adamson had to have both his legs amputated but his had nothing to do with the so-called curse of the mummy, says Elaine. "He always told me that his leg problems were from the curse of the war, not of the tomb... He said that the curse was made up to keep journalists and tourists away from the site and the treasures." -- Gillian Ellison, Whitehaven News - U.K., Jan 23, 1997

A battered suitcase discovered in a Scottish attic may at last prove an old man's claim that he was responsible for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen.

It was filled with old photographs, a movie film and notes made by Corporal Richard Adamson, a mysterious figure who acted as assistant to British Egyptologist Howard Carter, but who has not been mentioned in the dozens of books written about the discovery; not even by Carter.

When Carter was picking over the last area he was to dig in Egypt's Valley of the Kings in November 1922, his aide was Adamson, a stocky 23-year-old who was, in fact, a spy...

Now, 15 years after his death, British author Elaine Edgar, who befriended Adamson when he was a lonely old man, has discovered a suitcase with photographs and notes which she says prove he was telling the truth about his discovery... -- Desmond Zwar, Sunday Herald - Australia, March 8, 1998

Chief among the archaeologists who have been applauded over the years for discovering the tomb of Tutankhamun were Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, but there was a third player in the drama whose vital part has never been fully acknowledged.

Richard Adamson, a military policeman, was posted from Cairo to Luxor, officially to supervise the shipping of military surveying equipment. What might have been a brief assignment turned into a ten-year stint as he graduated to guardian of the tomb of Tutankhamun.

For seven years, he slept in the boy king's shrine, whiling away the nights with his gramophone and books...

Mrs. Edgar first met Adamson in 1973 when he was lecturing as the last survivor of "the find of the century." They became close friends. To write this book she has had access to letters, family papers, Adamson's own account of his experiences, and the contents of his recently discovered battered old suitcase. -- George Bott, Keswick Reminder - U.K., April 25, 1997

For 75 years the discovery of the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun and subsequent events have been a topic of heated debate among Egyptologists and archaeologists. A Journey Between Souls is the true story of a soldier, Richard Adamson, who was present at the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb, and who slept at and guarded the boy god/king's tomb for seven years. Elaine Edgar, the author of this remarkable story, is a British Egyptologist who for ten years was the friend and confidante of Richard Adamson. A Journey Between Souls is the result of the discovery of an aging suitcase in a dusty attic in Scotland, belonging to Richard Adamson. This simple suitcase turned out to be a veritable treasure chest containing a wealth of information relating to the tomb's discovery and its aftermath. A Journey Between Souls is one of those rare works of nonfiction that are as gripping as any novel. Easy to pick up and hard to put down, A Journey Between Souls is "must" reading for anyone who has ever seen the fabled treasure of the pharonic boy king, or heard tales of its discovery and the fates that befell men afterwards! -- Midwest Book Review

Interest in Richard Adamson's role in the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb has been reawakened by a new book by Elaine Edgar, who befriended Adamson during his latter years. As a young military policeman, he was sent to the Valley of the Kings to work for an archaeology team led by Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter. Mr. Adamson had been watching workmen uncovering some ancient huts when he noticed an unusual looking stone and reported it to Carter. It proved to be the first of a flight of steps leading to Tutankhamun's tomb.

The temporary posting turned into a long-term assignment as Mr. Adamson stayed on to guard the tomb, ultimately as a civilian, until work finally came to an end in 1982.

He remained silent about his experiences until after the death of his wife Kate in 1967. After his wife's death, Adamson toured the country, giving lectures on the discovery of the tomb. -- Richard Bettsworth, Portsmouth News - U.K., Feb 24, 1997

The fascinating true story of a man who slept for seven years in the tomb of Tutankhamun has been revealed. It is the biography of Richard Adamson, who guarded the Pharaoh's tomb while it was being excavated...

The subject matter is captivating. It gives a detailed account of Mr. Adamson's thoughts and feelings during the 10 years of his life which were taken over by the discovery of the famous tomb.

A lot of his experiences are actually from his own notes which he took during the excavation works. "I will admit to feeling very strange down here, cooped up all alone, just me and the mummy." "I sleep just inches away from it and it's damn eerie. I am actually beginning to feel entombed myself."

The book gives a real-life insight into how such an incredible experience changed one man's life forever. -- Gillian Ellison, Whitehaven News - U.K., Feb 6, 1997

This biography of a bystander at one of archaeology's great events will be of particular interest to Egyptophiles ... The book relates the previously little-known story of Richard Adamson, a British soldier who was responsible for security at the tomb throughout the decade of its clearance. Adamson was truly a behind-the-curtain player in the drama which unfolded around the "cursed" royal sepulcher, its horde of treasures and the case of colorful on-stage principals.

Author Elaine Edgar was a longtime friend and confidante of Adamson (who died in 1982 at age 81) and her brief account of the old soldier's story focuses on his late-in-life personal recollections of the Tutankhamen experience, as well as "reconstructions" by her of diary entries, as they might have been written had Adamson kept such a journal (these were approved by the subject's surviving family members, as "credible" reflections of his verbally expressed thoughts on the varius subjects dealt with.) -- Dennis Forbes, KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt, Summer 1997

Product Details

• Paperback: 169 pages
• Publisher: Colin White & Laurie Boucke (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888580003
• ISBN-13: 978-1888580006
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,364,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NEW SLANT ON THE TUTENKHAMUN TOMB DISCOVERY, December 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Journey Between Souls: The Story of a Soldier and a Pharaoh (Paperback)

I thought everything had been said already on the discovery of Pharoah Tutenkhamun's tomb, but the story of Richard Adamson's role is fascinating. However, this totally absorbing biography as told by his friend Elaine Edgar offers far more than just another 'King Tut' tale. It gives an insight into the life of an ordinary British soldier in the 20's and tells how he was drawn into the strange world of the Archaeologists of the time and the behind the scenes activities which have not before been revealed. Impossible to put the book down.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars my great grandad, May 12, 2007

By 

maria davies "maria" (wales uk) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Journey Between Souls: The Story of a Soldier and a Pharaoh (Paperback)

i found this book absolutley fascinating to read, as i had heard the tales that were passed down through my family about our great grandad.i am the grandaughter of robert adamson who was richard adamsons third born son. a great tribute to a fascinating life!
maria davies

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars More fiction than fact, November 27, 2005

By 

Chris "24258169" (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Journey Between Souls: The Story of a Soldier and a Pharaoh (Paperback)

In her book Elaine Edgar does a magnificent job in disseminating Richard Leslie Adamson's fantasies. For there simply is no contemporary historical evidence to back up his claims to have been the security guard at the tomb of Tutankhamun. Edgar would perhaps argue otherwise but there is nothing in the content of her book that comes remotely close to proving Adamson's case. A simple request of official documents should have been her first quest to establish the authenticity of Adamson's tales.

For copies of certificates recording the births of Richard Adamson's first three sons reveal a very different story to that told by their father. Adamson's first son was born on the 23rd December 1925 and his certificate reveals his father's occupation as "Motor Mechanic". The second son was born was on 21 August 1927 and the occupation of the father is given as "Tram Conductor". The third boy was born on the 13th January 1930 and Adamson's occupation is recorded as "Bus Conductor". All three documents record that Adamson was living and working in the `County of Portsmouth' in England and thus he could not have been guarding some hot and dusty tomb in Egypt.