Stand in the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, among 134 giant columns, and it is easy to feel small and slightly lost. Read a few good books first and the same room becomes legible: who built it, why, and what the carvings are saying.
Luxor was Thebes, the great religious centre of Egypt and a royal city in the age of Hatshepsut, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. It is also a place where knowing the story changes what you see. The list below covers fiction, history, biography and site guides, and it ends with a reading plan for a week or a month.
If you only read three
- Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. The easiest way into the river. Read it on the flight.
- The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson. The political backbone that makes the monuments make sense.
- A biography of the pharaoh whose site you’ll visit first. Joyce Tyldesley’s book on Hatshepsut for the West Bank, or her book on Ramesses for Luxor Temple.
Which book to read before which site
| Before you visit | Read |
|---|---|
| Karnak and Luxor Temple | The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (Richard H. Wilkinson) |
| Temple of Hatshepsut | Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh (Joyce Tyldesley) |
| Valley of the Kings | The Complete Valley of the Kings (Nicholas Reeves and Richard H. Wilkinson); for Tutankhamun, Reeves’s The Complete Tutankhamun or Thomas Hoving’s Tutankhamun: The Untold Story |
| Luxor Temple and the Ramesside sites | Ramesses: Egypt’s Greatest Pharaoh (Joyce Tyldesley) |
| Deir el-Medina and daily life | Red Land, Black Land (Barbara Mertz), then our guide to the artisans of ancient Egypt |
| Modern Luxor and etiquette | Culture Smart! Egypt (Jailan Zayan) |
Fiction: bringing the pharaohs to life
Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie. Published in 1937 and drawn from Christie’s own travels in Egypt, this murder mystery unfolds aboard a Nile steamer called the Karnak. Its best-known settings are Aswan’s Old Cataract Hotel and the temple at Abu Simbel, so treat it as atmosphere for the river rather than a Luxor guide. Best read on the flight or on a cruise.
The Egyptian, Mika Waltari. Published in 1945, this historical novel follows Sinuhe, a physician in the reign of Akhenaten. It is long and immersive, a good pick if you want a full-length escape into ancient Egyptian life before you land.
Nefertiti, Michelle Moran. Moran’s debut novel follows Nefertiti, queen and wife of Akhenaten, through the politics of the royal court. Her story centres on Amarna rather than Thebes, but it puts a face to the royal family whose names appear on the walls of Karnak.
History and Egyptology
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, Toby Wilkinson. A comprehensive overview that treats the pharaohs’ power as politics. It is the best single book for reading Luxor’s great monuments as statements of authority.
Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt, Barbara Mertz. Mertz writes with wit and keeps the human side of history in view. Its title sets the fertile “Black Land” of the river against the harsh “Red Land” of the desert. It is a general introduction to daily life rather than a book about the tomb-builders’ village, so pair it with our Deir el-Medina guide.
Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs, Barbara Mertz. An engaging general history that debunks myths without losing the sense of wonder. Its chapters on the 18th and 19th Dynasties matter most for Luxor.
The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Richard H. Wilkinson. A reference guide to the deities and iconography you will keep meeting at Karnak and Luxor Temple. Dip into it rather than reading it cover to cover.
Biography and discovery
Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh, Joyce Tyldesley. (The title uses this spelling; elsewhere we use Hatshepsut.) Deir el-Bahari, Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple on the West Bank, is a highlight of any trip. Tyldesley’s biography covers a woman who ruled as king and undertook ambitious building projects, and whose images were later defaced on many monuments.
Tutankhamun: The Untold Story, Thomas Hoving. Hoving, a former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, tells the story of Howard Carter’s 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. It is a lively read but dates from 1978, so pair it with our own account of the discovery for current context.
Ramesses: Egypt’s Greatest Pharaoh, Joyce Tyldesley. Ramesses II’s influence is visible across Luxor, from the colossal statues at Luxor Temple to the monuments of the West Bank. Tyldesley portrays him as ambitious, militaristic and legendary.
Site guides
The Complete Valley of the Kings, Nicholas Reeves and Richard H. Wilkinson. The Thames & Hudson account of the valley includes factfiles, cutaway views and a visitor guide with a map. It is heavy to carry, so read it before you go.
Luxor Illustrated, Michael Haag, revised by Aidan Dodson. A full-colour guide to the monuments and landscape of Luxor and Upper Egypt, in a recently revised edition. It is the most practical of these books to take with you.
Pair any of these with a current guidebook for practical details such as opening hours and prices, which change too often for a book to keep up. Our site guides cover Karnak, Luxor Temple and the Valley of the Kings, and our entrance fees guide has current prices.
Beyond Luxor: travel writing and modern Egypt
A Thousand Miles Up the Nile, Amelia Edwards. In 1873–74, Edwards travelled up the Nile by boat and published a classic of travel literature in 1877, including memorable descriptions of the ruins at Karnak. She later co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund, which became the Egypt Exploration Society in 1919.
The Cairo Trilogy, Naguib Mahfouz. Mahfouz won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature for his body of work, of which this is the best known. It is set in Cairo, not Luxor, but it is a rich way into Egyptian family life, religion and character.
Culture Smart! Egypt, Jailan Zayan. A practical guide to customs, values and daily life, from respectful behaviour with locals to bargaining in markets. Download it to your phone. Our guides to what to wear and tourist scams pair well with it.
How to build your Luxor reading plan
Story first works best when time is short. History gives fiction something to attach to, so if you have longer, put context before the novels.
- One week. Read Death on the Nile for the flight, pick up a guidebook, and put the Culture Smart! guide on your phone.
- One month. Add The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt and one pharaoh biography, either Tyldesley’s Hatchepsut or Ramesses, depending on which sites excite you most.
- History enthusiast. Add Mertz’s two books, Reeves and Wilkinson on the Valley of the Kings, and the Wilkinson reference guide. The Toby Wilkinson and Joyce Tyldesley back catalogues will keep you occupied well beyond your trip.
- Fiction lover. The Christie, Waltari and Moran combination will have you dreaming of the Nile for weeks before you arrive.