On the trail of Nephthys with Rachel Louise Driscoll

Submitted: 5th February 2025

On the trail of Nephthys with Rachel Louise Driscoll

A visit to ancient Egypt today – or rather Victorian Egypt which is quite an experience! You coming? Rachel, author of Nephthys is here, sunhat on and ready to go. No touching the ancient statues mind!

Locations in Nephthys

Nephthys

Rachel Louise Driscoll

Locations in Nephthys

As an author, it is my desire to enable readers to travel through my books. Both through time, and to different places. In my debut novel Nephthys, you can join my heroine Clemmie on a journey through 19th century Egypt. The hot and dusty deserts and twirling River Nile. The clamorous bazaars ripe with the scent of freshly-brewed coffee and decadent spices.

I want my readers to taste the lumps of delight on their tongues. For them to smell the garlic and dung. To see the river unsettle with a ripple and wonder if it’s a crocodile. To hear the cry of the black kites soaring overhead. I want them to feel the pinch of a corset in the Egyptian heat. And for them to know the scratch of sand as they turn each page. This was my aim when I set out to write my debut novel.

Locations in Nephthys

My fascination for Ancient Egypt and my love for Gothic Victoriana led me to this much-loved and incredible setting. I was intrigued by the hieroglyphs and ruins, and astonished by tales of Victorian mummy unwrapping parties. I uncovered accounts of fake mummies, illegal digs, and antiquity dealing. Full of inspiration, I started writing.

Egypt flag

Locations in Nephthys

Nephthys is about a Victorian Egyptologist called Clemmie. She embarks on a secret mission to Egypt whilst being haunted by the myth of Nephthys. Her quest takes her on a journey up the Nile, stopping off at famous sites along the way. It was thrilling writing about them all, and I hope I’ve done them justice.

Rachel’s handrawn map

Locations in Nephthys

I haven’t been to Egypt, but then, I haven’t experienced the Victorian era either. Historical fiction authors make up for a lack of time travel with research. The same stands for my travel to Egypt. In order to plot out Clemmie’s journey, I delved into Amelia Edwards’s memoir A Thousand Miles Up the Nile. I examined maps (and attempted to draw one of my own). From here I calculated the distance between stops when journeying up the Nile on a dahabeeyah. As I worked, I pin-pointed the main ruins I wanted my characters to explore. At the start of the novel, Clemmie arrives in Cairo (staying at Shepheard’s Hotel, like Edwards did). Throughout the story, she visits the Great Pyramid at Gîzeh, the looted grounds of Sakkârah, and the famous temple at Denderah.

Shepheard’s Hotel:

Locations in Nephthys

Denderah is the location of the Temple of Hathor, goddess of love. Hathor wore a headdress of cows’ horns with a solar disk between them. This headdress was sometimes also worn by Isis in Egyptian artwork. Isis is the sister of the lesser-known goddess Nephthys – Clemmie’s favourite mythical figure. It is the story of Nephthys which Clemmie sees mirrored in her own life. On her quest, Clemmie feels drawn to the temple at Denderah where there are depictions of Isis and Nephthys.

Locations in Nephthys

I felt drawn to Denderah myself. The ceiling is remarkable. Whilst I have only seen photographs, I would love to one day admire them in person. Picture a ruined temple, mutilated in parts by time, but still beautiful. Still so much of the ceiling is preserved in the vivid colours of Egypt: sandy-buff, and turquoise-blue. There are elaborate carvings of scarabs and ankhs and mythical gods and goddesses. Writing about Denderah brought me so much joy. I could see it so clearly when I described the temple that I truly felt as if I was there.

Great Pyramid at Gîzeh

Locations in Nephthys

There are other beautiful locations in Nephthys, but I’ll leave you to discover them alongside Clemmie. Writing a novel set in Egypt was such a treat. Each time I’ve read through my novel, I’ve loved returning to that stunning setting.

Do you want to travel to Egypt? Has it always been on your bucket-list, or have you been before and long to reminisce or even return? Let me take you there. In Nephthys, I invite you to travel to 19th century Egypt. So don your palm-leaf hat, grab some lemonade, and step aboard the dahabeeyah.