The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned
First edition cover
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| Author | Anne Rice |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Horror novel |
| Published | May 6, 1989 |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 448 |
| ISBN | (first edition, paperback) |
| OCLC | 19682492 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3568.I265 M86 1989 |
| Followed by | Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra |
The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned, is a 1989 historical-horror novel by Anne Rice. Taking place during the early twentieth century, it follows the collision between a British archeologist's family and a resurrected mummy. The novel ends with the statement, "The Adventures of Ramses the Damned Shall Continue", and twenty-eight years later, Rice finally fulfilled this promise, with Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra set for publication on November 21, 2017.
During the Edwardian period in 1914, a wealthy shipping-magnate-turned-archaeologist, Lawrence Stratford, discovers an unusual tomb. The mummy inside, in its left-behind notes, claims to be the famed pharaoh Ramses II, despite the tomb's dating only to the first century B.C. (the historical Ramses II died in 1224 B.C.). Before he can fully investigate this claim, Lawrence unexpectedly falls dead, and those around him fear he was the victim of a curse placed on the tomb. Nonetheless, the mummy and other belongings are shipped off to London, and placed on temporary display in Lawrence's house before they are taken by the British Museum.
Lawrence's daughter Julie Stratford is the designated heir to her father's shipping company, as well as the dysfunctional family that surrounds it. Her cousin Henry is an alcoholic and gambling addict who has been draining the family fortune with the aid of his uncle. Julie is engaged to marry Alex Savarell, a viscount and son of Elliott, the current Earl of Rutherford. Although the marriage is a standard alliance between the wealthy Stratfords and an impoverished family of nobles, Alex truly loves Julie, though she is unable to return these feelings.
Into this unstable situation comes the mummy Ramses, who awakes shortly after his sarcophagus is placed in Julie's house.
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