Sir Gardner Wilkinson and His Circle [Hardcover]

Jason Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1992

Following in the footsteps of Napoleon's army, Europeans invaded Egypt in the early ninetecnth century to gaze in wonder at the massive, inscrutable remains of its ancient civilizations. One of these travelers was a twenty-four-year-old Englishman, John Gardner Wilkinson. His copious observations of ancient and modern Egyptian places, artifacts, and lifeways, recorded in such widely read publications as Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians and Handbook for Travellers in Egypt, made him the leading early Victorian authority on ancient Egypt and paved the way for thc scientific study of Egyptology. In this first full-scale biography of Wilkinson (1797-1875), Jason Thompson skillfully portrays both the man and his era. He follows Wilkinson during his initial sojourn in Egypt (1821-1833) as Wilkinson immersed himself in a contemporary Egyptian lifestyle and in study of its ancient past. He shows Wilkinson in his circle of friends--among them Edward William Lane, Robert Hay and Frederick Catherwood. And he traces how Wilkinson continued to use his Egyptian material in the decades following his return to England. With the rise of professional Egyptology in the middle and later nineteenth century, Sir Gardner Wilkinson came to be viewed as an amateur and his popularity diminished. Drawing upon recently opened sources, Thompson returns Wilkinson to his rightful place within centuries of Egyptian scholarship and assesses both the vision and the limitations of his work. The result is a compelling portrait of a Victorian "gentleman-scholar" and his cultural milieu.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thompson's fine biography of Gardner Wilkinson has a dual value - bringing attention to the largely forgotten life and accomplishments of a pioneer in Egyptian studies and casting vivid light on the aims and practices of early nineteenth century scholars, as they moved from antiquarianism to archaeology." Bulletin of the History of Archaeology

Product Details

• Hardcover: 326 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press; 1St Edition edition (1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292776438
• ISBN-13: 978-0292776432
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,766,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars His place in Egyptological history, June 12, 2000

By 

Brian V. Hunt "Brian V. Hunt" (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sir Gardner Wilkinson and His Circle (Hardcover)

With the death of Champollion and Young, Gardner Wilkinson was for a while probably the world's foremost expert on the emerging study of hieroglyphics. He spent several years in Egypt and even built a house using a tomb in the Theban hillside at Gurna.

This well written, eminently researched book is a fascinating read. It sheds light on the early days of Egyptology and shows us the relationships between some of the giants of the then nascent discipline. It also illuminates the often competitive world of 19th century scholarship in the days of European dilettantism.

Thompson obviously had great interest in his subject and presents Wilkinson in an interesting light, although not much dimension comes through concerning Wilkinson's personality until late in the Egyptologist's life. This may be due to a lack of materials that supply such information about the man. His work is covered much better. While I couldn't help admiring Wilkinson's work, I found little to like about the man, especially considering that like many of his European contemporaries, he bought himself a female slave in Egypt (with whom he apparently later made financial arrangements before leaving Egypt). He also had a rather unenlightened opinion of the modern Egyptians, whom it seems he did little to get to know.

Those facts notwithstanding, the book keeps the reader's interest from start to finish and anyone interested in Egyptology would enjoy this book.