The Adventurous Life of Amelia B. Edwards

Margaret C. Jones was Senior Lecturer at the Department of English, University of the West of England, UK. She is now a writer, primarily of feminist biographies such as Founder, Fighter, Saxon Queen: Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians and Heretics and Hellraisers: Women of The Masses.

In Victorian England, Amelia B. Edwards was an iconic cultural figure, admired by Trollope and Browning for her best-selling fiction and by the wider public for her witty, thought-provoking travel writing. In later life, she became a celebrated historian, bringing fresh understanding of the world of Ancient Egypt to a fascinated public and founding the Egyptian Exploration Fund (Society).This new biography uses previously overlooked sources to tell the story of her fascinating and unconventional life - her travels, travails and feminist activism - as well as touching on her occasionally problematic views on race. In appreciation of a figure ahead of her time, it examines her involvement in suffrage and animal rights societies as well as revealing new insights into Edwards' loving same-sex relationships with Ellen Rice Byrne and Lucy Renshaw. In doing so, it reveals a versatile, creative, witty, independent woman, and a true pioneer of her time.

A lively, comprehensive account of the fascinating and unconventional life of Amelia B. Edwards, the well-known Victorian explorer, novelist, and trailblazing queer writer, who broke new ground in literature and Egyptology.

Chapter 1. Young AmeliaChapter 2. Love - and The DolomitesChapter 3. The NileChapter 4. Inventing EgyptChapter 5. Founding the Fund Chapter 6. A Very Private LifeChapter 7. NovelistChapter 8. AmericaChapter 9. A Quiet ActivistChapter 10. ReputationBibliography