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The Mummy or Ramses the Damned: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – September 13, 1991
| Anne Rice (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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“The reader is held captive and, ultimately, seduced.”—San Francisco Chronicle
Ramses the Great lives!
But having drunk the elixer of live, he is now Ramses the Damned, doomed forever to wander the earth, desperate to quell hungers that can never be satisfied—for food, for wine, for women.
Reawakened in opulent Edwardian London, he becomes Dr. Ramsey, expert in Egyptology. He also becomes the close companion of voluptuous, adventurous Julie Stratford, heiress to a vast shipping fortune and the center of a group of jaded aristocrats with appetites of their own to appease.
But the pleasures Ramses enjoys with Julie cannot soothe him. Searing memories of his last reawakening, at the behest of Cleopatra, his beloved Queen of Egypt, burn in his immortal soul. And though he is immortal, he is still all too human. His intense longings for his great love, undiminished over the centuries, will force him to commit an act that will place everyone around him in the gravest danger. . . .
- Print length416 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBallantine Books
- Publication dateSeptember 13, 1991
- Dimensions4.19 x 1.07 x 6.85 inches
- ISBN-100345369947
- ISBN-13978-0345369949
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From the Publisher
From the Inside Flap
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Ramses the Great has awakened in Edwardian London. Having drunk the elixir of life, he is now Ramses the Damned, doomed forever to wander the earth, desperate to quell hungers that can never be satisfied. Although he pursues voluptuous aristocrat Julie Stratford, the woman for whom he desperately longs is Cleopatra. And his intense longing for her, undiminished over the centuries, will force him to commit an act that will place everyone around him in the gravest danger....
From the Back Cover
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Ramses the Great has awakened in Edwardian London. Having drunk the elixir of life, he is now Ramses the Damned, doomed forever to wander the earth, desperate to quell hungers that can never be satisfied. Although he pursues voluptuous aristocrat Julie Stratford, the woman for whom he desperately longs is Cleopatra. And his intense longing for her, undiminished over the centuries, will force him to commit an act that will place everyone around him in the gravest danger....
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
THE CAMERA flashes blinded him for a moment. If only he could get the photographers away.
But they had been at his side for months now—ever since the first artifacts had been found in these barren hills, south of Cairo. It was as if they too had known. Something about to happen. After all these years, Lawrence Stratford was on to a major find.
And so they were there with the cameras, and the smoking flashes. They almost knocked him off balance as he made his way into the narrow rough-hewn passage towards the letters visible on the half-uncovered marble door.
The twilight seemed to darken suddenly. He could see the letters, but he couldn’t make them out.
“Samir,” he cried. “I need light.”
“Yes, Lawrence.” At once the torch exploded behind him, and in a flood of yellow illumination, the slab of stone was wonderfully visible. Yes, hieroglyphs, deeply etched and beautifully gilded, and in Italian marble. He had never seen such a sight.
He felt the hot silky touch of Samir’s hand on his as he began to read aloud:
“ ‘Robbers of the Dead, Look away from this tomb lest you wake its occupant, whose wrath cannot be contained. Ramses the Damned is my name.’ ”
He glanced at Samir. What could it mean?
“Go on, Lawrence, translate, you are far quicker than I am,” Samir said.
“ ‘Ramses the Damned is my name. Once Ramses the Great of Upper and Lower Egypt; Slayer of the Hittites, Builder of Temples; Beloved of the People; and immortal guardian of the kings and queens of Egypt throughout time. In the year of the death of the Great Queen Cleopatra, as Egypt becomes a Roman province, I commit myself to eternal darkness; beware, all those who would let the rays of the sun pass through this door.’ ”
“But it makes no sense,” Samir whispered. “Ramses the Great ruled one thousand years before Cleopatra.”
“Yet these are nineteenth-dynasty hieroglyphs without question,” Lawrence countered. Impatiently, he scratched away at the loose rubble. “And look, the inscription’s repeated—in Latin and in Greek.” He paused, then quickly read the last few Latin lines.
“ ‘Be Warned: I sleep as the earth sleeps beneath the night sky or the winter’s snow; and once awakened, I am servant to no man.’ ”
For a moment Lawrence was speechless, staring at the words he’d read. Only vaguely did he hear Samir:
“I don’t like it. Whatever it means, it’s a curse.”
Reluctantly Lawrence turned and saw that Samir’s suspicion had turned to fear.
“The body of Ramses the Great is in the Cairo Museum,” Samir said impatiently.
“No,” Lawrence answered. He was aware of a chill moving slowly up his neck. “There’s a body in the Cairo Museum, but it’s not Ramses! Look at the cartouches, the seal! There was no one in the time of Cleopatra who could even write the ancient hieroglyphs. And these are perfect—and done like the Latin and the Greek with infinite care.”
Oh, if only Julie were here, Lawrence thought bitterly. His daughter, Julie, was afraid of nothing. She would understand this moment as no one else could.
He almost stumbled as he backed out of the passage, waving the photographers out of his path. Again, the flashes went off around him. Reporters rushed towards the marble door.
“Get the diggers back to work,” Lawrence shouted. “I want the passage cleared down to the threshold. I’m going into that tomb tonight.”
“Lawrence, take your time with this,” Samir cautioned. “There is something here which must not be dismissed.”
“Samir, you astonish me,” Lawrence answered. “For ten years we’ve been searching these hills for just such a discovery. And no one’s touched that door since it was sealed two thousand years ago.”
Almost angrily, he pushed past the reporters who caught up with him now, and tried to block the way. He needed the quiet of his tent until the door was uncovered; he needed his diary, the only proper confidant for the excitement he felt. He was dizzy suddenly from the long day’s heat.
“No questions now, ladies and gentlemen,” Samir said politely. As he always did, Samir came between Lawrence and the real world.
Lawrence hurried down the uneven path, twisting his ankle a little painfully, yet continuing, his eyes narrow as he looked beyond the flickering torches at the sombre beauty of the lighted tents under the violet evening sky.
Only one thing distracted him before he reached the safety zone of his camp chair and desk: a glimpse of his nephew, Henry, watching idly from a short distance away. Henry, so uncomfortable and out of place in Egypt; looking miserable in his fussy white linen suit. Henry, with the inevitable glass of Scotch in his hand, and the inevitable cheroot on his lip.
Undoubtedly the belly dancer was with him—the woman, Malenka, from Cairo, who gave her British gentleman all the money she made.
Lawrence could never entirely forget about Henry, but having Henry underfoot now was more than he could bear.
In a life well lived, Lawrence counted Henry as his only true disappointment—the nephew who cared for no one and nothing but gaming tables and the bottle; the sole male heir to the Stratford millions who properly couldn’t be trusted with a one-pound note.
Sharp pain again as he missed Julie—his beloved daughter, who should have been here with him, and would have been if her young fiancé hadn’t persuaded her to stay at home.
Henry had come to Egypt for money. Henry had company papers for Lawrence to sign. And Henry’s father, Randolph, had sent him on this grim mission, desperate as always to cover his son’s debts.
A fine pair they are, Lawrence thought grimly—the ne’er-do-well and the chairman of the board of Stratford Shipping who clumsily funneled the company’s profits into his son’s bottomless purse.
But in a very real way Lawrence could forgive his brother, Randolph, anything. Lawrence hadn’t merely given the family business to Randolph. He had dumped it on Randolph, along with all its immense pressures and responsibilities, so that he, Lawrence, could spend his remaining years digging among the Egyptian ruins he so loved.
And to be perfectly fair, Randolph had done a tolerable job of running Stratford Shipping. That is, until his son had turned him into an embezzler and a thief. Even now, Randolph would admit everything if confronted. But Lawrence was too purely selfish for that confrontation. He never wanted to leave Egypt again for the stuffy London offices of Stratford Shipping. Not even Julie could persuade him to come home.
And now Henry stood there waiting for his moment. And Lawrence denied him that moment, entering the tent and eagerly pulling his chair up to the desk. He took out a leather-bound diary which he had been saving, perhaps for this discovery. Hastily he wrote what he remembered of the door’s inscription and the questions it posed.
“Ramses the Damned.” He sat back, looking at the name. And for the first time he felt just a little of the foreboding which had shaken Samir.
What on earth could all this mean?
Product details
- Publisher : Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (September 13, 1991)
- Language : English
- Mass Market Paperback : 416 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0345369947
- ISBN-13 : 978-0345369949
- Item Weight : 7 ounces
- Dimensions : 4.19 x 1.07 x 6.85 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #90,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #345 in Ghost Fiction
- #651 in Occult Fiction
- #1,245 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author

Anne Rice was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in English and Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. Anne has spent more of her life in California than in New Orleans, but New Orleans is her true home and provides the back drop for many of her famous novels. The French Quarter provided the setting for her first novel, Interview with the Vampire. And her ante-bellum house in the Garden District was the fictional home of her imaginary Mayfair Witches.
She is the author of over 30 books, most recently the Toby O'Dare novels Of Love and Evil, and Angel Time; the memoir, Called Out of Darkness;and her two novels about Jesus, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana. (Anne regards Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana as her best novel.) ---- Under the pen name, A.N. Roquelaure, Anne is the author of the erotic (BDSM) fantasy series, The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy. Under the pen name Anne Rampling she is the author of two erotic novels, Exit to Eden and Belinda.
Anne publicly broke with organized religion in July of 2010 on moral grounds, affirming her faith in God, but refusing any longer to be called "Christian." The story attracted surprising media attention, with Rice's remarks being quoted in stories all over the world. Anne hopes that her two novels about Jesus will be accepted on their merits by readers and transcend her personal difficulties with religion. "Both my Christ the Lord novels were written with deep conviction and a desire to write the best novels possible about Jesus that were rooted in the bible and in the Christian tradition. I think they are among the best books I've ever been able to write, and I do dream of a day when they are evaluated without any connection to me personally. I continue to get a lot of very favorable feedback on them from believers and non believers. I remain very proud of them."
Anne is very active on her FaceBook Fan Page and has well over a million followers. She answers questions every day on the page, and also posts on a variety of topics, including literature, film, music, politics, religion, and her own writings. Many indie authors follow the page, and Anne welcomes posts that include advice for indie authors. She welcomes discussion there on numerous topics. She frequently asks her readers questions about their response to her work and joins in the discussions prompted by these questions.
Her novel, "The Wolves of Midwinter," a sequel to "The Wolf Gift" and part of a werewolf series set in Northern California in the present time, will be published on October 15, 2013. In these books --- The Wolf Gift Chronicles -- Anne returns to the classic monsters and themes of supernatural literature, similar to those she explored in her Vampire Chronicles, and tales of the Mayfair Witches. Her new "man wolf" hero, Reuben Golding, is a talented young man in his twenties who suddenly discovers himself in possession of werewolf powers that catapult him into the life of a comic book style super hero. How Reuben learns to control what he is, how he discovers others who possess the same mysterious "wolf gift," and how he learns to live with what he has become --- is the main focus of the series. "The Wolves of Midwinter" is a big Christmas book --- a book about Christmas traditions, customs, and the old haunting rituals of Midwinter practiced in Europe and in America. It's about how the werewolves celebrate these rituals, as humans and as werewolves. But the book also carries forward the story of Reuben's interactions with his girl friend, Laura, and with his human family, with particular focus on Reuben's father, Phil, and his brother, Jim. As a big family novel with elements of the supernatural, "The Wolves of Midwinter" has much in common with Anne's earlier book, "The Witching Hour." Among the treats of "The Wolves of Midwinter" is a tragic ghost who appears in the great house at Nideck Point, and other "ageless ones" who add their mystery and history to the unfolding revelations that at times overwhelm Reuben.
In October of 2014, with the publication of "Prince Lestat," Anne returned to the fabled "Brat Prince" of the Vampire Chronicles, catching up with him in present time. This is the first of several books planned focusing on Lestat's new adventures with other members of the Vampire tribe. When the publication of "Prince Lestat" was announced on Christopher Rice's "The Dinner Party Show," a weekly internet radio broadcast, it made headlines in the US and around the world. "Prince Lestat" debuted at #3 on the New York Times Best Seller list and ran for nine weeks during the height of the competitive Fall-Winter season, with another week on the extended NYTBSL. ----
"Beauty's Kingdom," is the fourth in her "Sleeping Beauty Erotica Series," and the first to be launched in hardcover. Though the first three novels were published in the 1980's under the pseudonym, A.N. Roquelaure, the name, Anne Rice, was added to the series in the 1990's. About her erotica, Anne has this to say: "I believe in the erotic imagination. I believe men and women have a right to write and read erotic fantasies. My goal with the "Sleeping Beauty" books is to provide the most authentic erotica that I can for those who share BDSM fantasies."
"Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis" was published on November 29th, 2016 revealing a new adventure in the life of the Brat Prince of the vampires, and the entire tribe --- as they confront the most difficult challenge they've ever faced. This novel may introduce Lestat and extend his appeal to science fiction readers and fantasy readers who love differing versions of the lost kingdom of Atlantis. The novel does justice to both themes: Atlantis and Lestat. So far, as of early 2016, this novel has received a remarkably positive response with Amazon reviewers.
Anne's first novel, Interview with the Vampire, was published in 1976 and has gone on to become one of the best-selling novels of all time. She continued her saga of the Vampire Lestat in a series of books, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles, which have had both great mainstream and cult followings.
Interview with the Vampire was made into a motion picture in 1994, directed by Neil Jordan, and starring Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst and Antonio Banderas. The film became an international success. Anne's novel, Feast of All Saints about the free people of color of ante-bellum New Orleans became a Showtime mini series in 2001 and is available now on dvd. The script for the mini series by John Wilder was a faithful adaptation of the novel.
Near the end of 2016, the theatrical rights to the Vampire Chronicles reverted fully and completely to Anne. She and her son, Christopher Rice, are now developing outlines and scripts for a new television series based on the adventures of The Vampire Lestat. Anne's announcement of this on FB reached well over 2 million people. "The reception in the Hollywood community" has been very simply wonderful," says Anne. "We have high hopes that we will see the Lestat television series go into production before the end of 2017."
Anne Rice is also the author of other novels, including The Witching Hour, Servant of the Bones, Merrick, Blackwood Farm, Blood Canticle, Violin, and Cry to Heaven. She lives in Palm Desert, California, but misses her home in New Orleans. She hopes to obtain a pied a terre in the French Quarter there some time in the near future.
Anne has this to say of her work: "I have always written about outsiders, about outcasts, about those whom others tend to shun or persecute. And it does seem that I write a lot about their interaction with others like them and their struggle to find some community of their own. The supernatural novel is my favorite way of talking about my reality. I see vampires and witches and ghosts as metaphors for the outsider in each of us, the predator in each of us...the lonely one who must grapple day in and day out with cosmic uncertainty."
------
Anne's announcement of the Vampire Chronicles series as it appeared on FB.
"The theatrical rights to the Vampire Chronicles are once again in my hands, free and clear! I could not be more excited about this! --- A television series of the highest quality is now my dream for Lestat, Louis, Armand, Marius and the entire tribe. In this the new Golden Age of television, such a series is THE way to let the entire story of the vampires unfold. --- My son Christopher Rice and I will be developing a pilot script and a detailed outline for an open ended series, faithfully presenting Lestat’s story as it is told in the books, complete with the many situations that readers expect to see. We will likely begin with “The Vampire Lestat” and move on from there. ----- When we sit down finally to talk to producers, we will have a fully realized vision of this project with Christopher as the executive producer at the helm. I will also be an executive producer all the way. ---- Again, I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to be able to announce this. ---- As many of you know, Universal Studios and Imagine Entertainment had optioned the series to develop motion pictures from it, and though we had the pleasure of working with many fine people in connection with this plan, it did not work out. It is, more than ever, abundantly clear that television is where the vampires belong. ---- Over the years you all have told me how much you want to see a “Game of Thrones” style faithful rendering of this material, and how much you want for the series to remain in my control. Well, I have heard you. I have always heard you. What you want is what I want. --- You, the readers, made these books a success before any movie was ever made based on them, and I will never forget that fact. ---- Christopher and I will be posting many questions on the page for your input in the days to come. ----- I am filled with optimism this morning about the future for my beloved Brat Prince. What better way to start a tour for the new book!"
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I first read this book many years ago when I was trying to balance a fairly new marriage, a four year old daughter, a (second) hip and pelvis replacement, and college classes. I probably don't need to say that money was tight. Really tight. My husband, who views reading somewhat like I view golf, bought the book for me because he knew how much I loved Anne Rice. Egypt, kings, queens, immortality, love...I was immediately hooked.
Ramses is, in many ways, unlike any of the other males in Anne Rice's books. He isn't calculating and destructive like Lasher, darkly brooding like Louis, or high maintenance and mecurical like Lestat. Of course having a couple of thousand years on them might be a part of the reason why. He is also, unlike his ghostly and vampiric brothers, a being of the sun. Ramses is contemplative and intelligent with a highly developed sense of justice. Upon being awakened after a self imposed sleep that goes back to the time of Cleopatra, he is bombarded with the future. Automobiles, trains, newspapers, scientific discoveries, telephones, moving pictures and airplanes are just a few of the things he wakes up to. Is he overwhelmed? Disbelieving? Terrified? No. He is amazed, entranced, and above all, powerfully excited. He wants to do and see it all. Immediately!
His guide for this journey is a young woman who has recently lost her father. She's an heiress who is left with a very small circle of people who all want something from her. Most are good people but there is one among the bunch who is rotten to the core. It's a testimony to Anne Rice's writing that I don't dislike Julie. After all, she's smart, kind, generous, beautiful, wealthy, you get the idea. She is also, at her base, loyal, loving, and good hearted. It was impossible for me to dislike her. She is powerfully attracted to Ramses. Who can blame her? Even as a young girl I can definitely remember knowing that Charlton Heston was no match for Yul Brynner.
They journey to Egypt where things begin to go disastrously wrong. Ramses makes an ill thought out decision that will put all of the lives in their circle in immediate and deadly danger. Evidently being immortal doesn't provide an inoculation against boneheaded actions and everyone in the vicinity is going to feel the aftereffects.
These types of stories have fascinated me since I was very young. My first reason for wanting immortality wouldn't be for living forever, it would be so I'd have enough time to listen to all of the stories told by Ramses that would bring history to life. He may have been Ramses the Damned, but I would have braved a curse and gone wherever he led.
It's been many years since I've re-read this book and I wondered how it would stand the test of time. Our daughter is now an adult, I graduated, and my husband is more than ever the love of many life. And the book? I love it even more now than I did then. I've shared a bit of my life for a reason. Those of us who love to read, if we are lucky anyway, find a handful of authors we are willing to follow no matter what. We are there through both missteps and triumphs. We are happy to read a multitude of authors but we inhale those we love. How can I remember what was going on in my life all those years ago? Because Anne Rice is one of those authors for me. A port in a storm I could escape to after baths, dinner and homework were done and I could read for awhile while everyone else slept.
Of course, once again I find that the only thing I truly dislike about Anne Rice's books is that they always come to an end.
The characters are not as the author describes. The old saying is actions speak louder than words. Main female character is NOT a strong independent women. All her decisions are driven by emotions and how others might feel.
Main male character, the mummy, is a hot, powerful alpha male that makes rash decisions. He has good memory skills, but basic "cause and effect" is not his strong suit. He seems to be able to out do any mortal man on anything, somewhat comical. For being three thousands years old, and having slept since Cleopatra time, he adjust to modern man very easily. Not too believable.
33% into the book, I was bored. I finished it but even the monster Cleopatra was boring.
The only other book from Ann Rice I ever read was "Interview with a Vampire". That book was pretty good. I clearly liked Louis ( main Character ) and hated Lestat. The story was exciting with a desire to find out more about Louis for me at least.













