Jackson Jones is trying to decide whether to remain an anthropology professor in his small Midwestern town, or to return to doing fieldwork among the Mbuti people, in their African Garden of Eden. His ruminations are interrupted by the arrival of a late friend's niece, who has just been sprung from jail. Sunny admits that she shot her husband, an evangelical pastor from the Little Egypt region of Illinois, but he had it coming after forcing her to take on a rattle snake. As an anthropologist, Jackson is curious about Sunny's experiences with The Church of the Burning Bush; as a man, he is not immune to her backwoods sassiness. Although Sunny is pleased to be with a kind partner at last, she is also serious about her belated education--funded by her late uncle--at Jackson's university. French and herpetology compete for her attention, and Jackson's plan to take her to Paris to propose marriage are waylaid when she decides to travel to an academic conference with her biology professor instead. Jackson is crushed and heads for Little Egypt in Sunny's absence, to get to know her ex-husband and to study the snake-handling ceremonies at his evangelical church. Complications ensue, including Jackson's near-death experience and Sunny's murder of her ex, but fate is a positive force for all in the end. Packed with both information and emotion, Snakewoman of Little Egypt delivers Robert Hellenga at the top of his form.

An exciting archeological exploration of ancient Egypt that examines the potential for discovering the remaining “lost” tombs of the pharaohs. Tombs, mummies, and funerary items make up a significant portion of the archeological remains that survive ancient Egypt and have come to define the popular perception of Egyptology. Despite the many sensational discoveries in the last century, such as the tomb of Tutankhamun, the tombs of some of the most famous individuals in the ancient world—Imhotep, Nefertiti, Alexander the Great, and Cleopatra—have not yet been found. Archeologist Chris Naunton examines the famous pharaohs, their achievements, the bling they might have been buried with, the circumstances in which they were buried, and why those circumstances may have prevented archeologists from finding these tombs. In Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt, Naunton sheds light on the lives of these ancient Egyptians and makes an exciting case for the potential discovery of these lost tombs.

WINNER 2014 JERWOOD FICTION UNCOVERED PRIZEElderly, Egypt-mad twins Isis and Osiris find their neglected English lives disturbed to catastrophic effect by the arrival of American Anarchist, SpikeNew from Lesley Glaister, winner of the Somerset Maugham, Betty Trask and Yorkshire Post Author of the Year prizes‘This tale of imprisonment and neglect explores our passion for nostalgia, with hints of Dodie Smith’s darker side. An excellent read that pulls at the heart as well as the head.’ —VICTORIA CLARK, The Lady ‘Eerily atmospheric Little Egypt, made me shudder; certain passages were read through half-closed eyes, the way you watch grisly scenes in a film — desperate to know what happens, but not wanting to disturbing images imprinted on your mind.’ —ROSEMARY GORING, The HeraldLittle Egypt was once a well-to-do country house in the north of England. Now it’s derelict and trapped on a small island of land between a railway, a dual carriageway and a superstore, and although it looks deserted it isn’t. Nonagenarian twins, Isis and Osiris, still live in the home they were born in, and from which in the 1920s their obsessive Egyptologist parents left them to search for the fabled tomb of Herihor – a search from which they never returned. Isis and Osiris have stayed in the house, guarding a terrible secret, for all their long lives until chance meeting between Isis and young American anarchist Spike, sparks an unlikely friendship and proves a catalyst for change. ‘I was gripped by the story from start to finish, finding it a perturbing, poignant and, in places, a darkly humorous read.’ —Amazon.co.ukThis enormously accomplished novel took twenty years to come to fruition: it is well worth the wait — buy your copy now.

Egypt is one of the few great empires of antiquity that exists today as a nation state. Despite its extraordinary record of national endurance, the pressures to which Egypt currently is subjected and which are bound to intensify are already straining the ties that hold its political community together, while rendering ever more difficult the task of governing it. In this timely book, leading expert on Egyptian affairs Robert Springborg explains how a country with such a long and impressive history has now arrived at this parlous condition. As Egyptians become steadily more divided by class, religion, region, ethnicity, gender and contrasting views of how, by whom and for what purposes they should be governed, so their rulers become ever more fearful, repressive and unrepresentative. Caught in a downward spiral in which poor governance is both cause and consequence, Egypt is facing a future so uncertain that it could end up resembling neighboring countries that have collapsed under similar loads. The Egyptian "hot spot", Springborg argues, is destined to become steadily hotter, with ominous implications for its peoples, the Middle East and North Africa, and the wider world.

A long time ago in the Holy Land lived a scruffy little donkey who hated hard work. And then he met gentle, kind Mary, and his world changed forever. When Mary and Joseph have to travel the long journey to Bethlehem, who can they rely on to get them there safely? This is a unique version of the traditional nativity story, told from the child-friendly perspective of the little donkey, who grows in confidence and pride as Mary and Joseph place their trust in him. The story ends with the wonder of the birth of Jesus, and the little donkey's promise to keep looking after his new family. Adapted for younger children from Gunhild Sehlin's classic chapter book, this Christmas story is sumptuously illustrated by Hélène Muller, with marvelous details of the Holy Land.

Chronicles the history and culture of ancient Egypt through photographs, diagrams, maps, timelines, and digitally-enhanced recreations of ancient monuments and structures.