‘Tutankhamun’ is a name so famous it’s tricky to do it justice. So much has been written about him, so many interpretations made as to who he was and how he met his fate. Even as I type, new theories about possible undiscovered chambers in his tomb are emerging. It’s a story that keeps on fascinating us.
As a writer of historical fiction, I feel it’s important to clarify that only some of what I’ve included in my story is documented fact. Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in late November 1922. Lord Carnarvon, Carter’s patron, had agreed to fund one last dig, but died of an infected mosquito bite the following April before most of the tomb’s contents were fully documented. His death fuelled rumours of a curse, which only made the Tutankhamun story more intriguing and alluring.
The timing of the tomb’s discovery was extremely sensitive: Egypt had become an independent country in early 1922, yet British and American archaeologists and collectors were soon jostling for a claim on Tutankhamun’s treasure. Howard Carter – stubborn, clever, determined – was known to be a difficult man. His relationship with the Egyptian authorities was strained, to say the least, and worsened after Lord Carnarvon’s death.
Much of what is said about Tutankhamun and his tomb depends on whose accounts you read. Over the years, the pharaoh’s mummy has been unwrapped, X-rayed, scanned. How exactly he died is still up for debate. Some say it was a chariot crash, others suggest he was murdered in a struggle for power. Evidence shows he had an injury to his head and leg. Very unusually for Egyptian burial rites, his heart had been removed. Tests also found him to have various strains of malaria.
This is where the fiction part of my story comes into play. As far as I know, Tutankhamen’s missing heart has never been found, nor has an account of his last days as king. For pace, I have condensed down the events of November 1922. My Howard Carter is brash and rather untrustworthy. As far as I know, no children were present at the first ‘opening’ of the tomb. The time it took to travel across Europe to Luxor is based on accounts from the day and estimations.
My fictional narrator Lil takes her name from the very real Ella Lily Kaye, whose mum bid for her to be a named character in my next book, during the Authors For Grenfell charity auction last year. I hope my Lil lives up to her namesake.
Emma Carroll
May 2018