The Last Egyptian
First edition
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| Author | L. Frank Baum |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Francis P. Wightman |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Adventure novel/romance |
| Publisher | Edward Stern & Co. |
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Publication date
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1907 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 287 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 419213619 |
| The Last Egyptian | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | J. Farrell MacDonald |
| Produced by |
L. Frank Baum Louis F. Gottschalk |
| Written by | L. Frank Baum |
| Starring | J. Farrell MacDonald Vivian Reed J. Charles Haydon Howard Davies Jane Urban |
| Music by | Louis F. Gottschalk |
| Cinematography | James A. Crosby |
| Distributed by | Alliance Program |
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Release date
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| Country | United States |
The Last Egyptian: A Romance of the Nile is a novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. The book was published anonymously on May 1, 1908 by Edward Stern & Co. of Philadelphia, with eight color plate illustrations by Francis P. Wightman. Baum left his name off of the book because he was concerned that "masquerading as a novelist" might hurt his career as a writer for children; but he identified himself as the author of the book during his lifetime when making fantasy films for children proved a financial disaster.
The novel was reissued as a 304-page trade paperback in July 2002 by Fredonia Books in the wake of the growing critical reappraisal and public interest in Baum's work. It was the first time the book was published under Baum's name. As with Baum's other adventure novels for adult readers (which were published under the name Schuyler Staunton, a slight alteration of his maternal uncle's name, not used here owing to the different publisher), it is inspired by the works of H. Rider Haggard that Matilda Joslyn Gage had encouraged him and his wife (her daughter) to read.
The extensive diacritical marks appear in the novel as published by Stern.
The novel focuses on three main characters, and is written in a third person limited point of view, which subtly shifts among the three characters, the narrator speaking with each character's very different prejudices as each becomes the temporary main focus. These three characters, in order of appearance, are Gerald Winston Bey, an English Egyptologist; an Egyptian, Kāra, and a dragoman named Tadros. Kāra, being white-skinned, is mistaken by Bey for a Copt, though he is no Christian, and he has no respect for Arab Muslims, either. Kāra claims to be a descendent of Ahtka-Rā, High Priest of Ămen, whom he says ruled Rameses II as his puppet, including hiding the latter's death for two years--archaeology says Rameses reigned 67 years, but according to Kāra, he ruled only 65.
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Wikipedia