Why a Booktrail?
1849: Gustave Flaubert and Florence Nightingale each toured Egypt at exactly the same time back in 1849 and followed a nearly identical itinerary. They never met in real life but what would have happened if they had?
The Twelve Rooms of the Nile
What you need to know before your trail
Florence Nightingale and Gustave Flaubert are two very well known figures in history. Florence is known of course for being one of the heroines of the 19th century whilst Gustave Flaubert wrote literary greats such as Madame Bovary.
They both travelled extensively and both visited Egypt at the same time. Imagine these two figures meeting – what would have taken place?
The meeting of two such different minds would have been fascinating. She believed in the role of women, had radical ideas about society and was somewhat naive around men. He on the other hand was a womanizer , reckless in many ways and fiercely ambitious.
Both travellers who explored the rich setting of 19th century Egypt, now spun into a story of what might have been.
Travel Guide
The Twelve rooms of the Nile – the title of the book – comes from an Egyptian myth in which the sun god, Ra, has to travel through the twelve rooms of the underworld every night in order to be able to grant the world another day. With such a powerful image at the start of your read, this novel explores the land of the Egyptian myths and their power…
Step on board the steamer, and let’s set sail for a glorious trip along the Nile and visits to some of the most intriguing and historical places Egypt has to offer.
Egypt is a rich and vivid tapestry, a picture painted with words and a country in flux. Where travelling around in those days was not an easy task –
“With no laws or rules of etiquette for the road, people travelled on both sides and in the middle Every manner of conveyance and beast moved together – camel caravans, flocks of sheep and goats…..”
A land of mystery and historical significance, a land of the mummies, pharaohs and oasis in the desert where two very different people come together and form one of the most intriguing friendships.
“The next morning they left Derr for Abu Simbel in the wilderness of Nubia. There Gustave calculated , he’d be five hundred kilometres and three weeks distant from Kuchuk Hanem on the last tame section of the river.”
His impression of perhaps the most famous waterway in the world?
“The Nile was a long, skinny prick of a river”
The heat is as oppressive as the poverty and suffering of the people they meet, Florence has to see this for herself and fight to hide her real character as she tries to see the real Egypt and not come across as a white westerner. For this is a land where the rich Westerners rule and where bribery is as common as grains of sand. when in Rome…Gustave on the other hand treats the country like his very own playground.
This is a land of contrasts and as well as the atmosphere and places, there’s the rich food to enjoy – the olives, the rice, roasted lamb and other delicacies will have you licking your lips as you feel the heat on your back and the excitement of the day’s journey ahead.
Their itinerary is as impressive as you might imagine – from the rock temple of Derr where Gustave made squeezes of hieroglyphs, to Abu Simbel where he has a rather unique view and impression of the place, to the city of Kenneh and the cataracts of the Nile which are a lot nicer than they sound, this is the trip of a lifetime with two very intriguing guides
Where Next?
