Lynne Olson
Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist who saved Egypt’s Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olson is a fascinating biography of the intrepid Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt.
Born in 1913 in France, Christiane had the good fortune to have progressive parents who encouraged her to pursue her interests. She developed a passion early in life for Ancient Egypt. She studied Egyptology and went on to become a curator at the Louvre. At the time of the Nazi occupation of France, she assisted in transporting the Louvre’s greatest treasures to safe havens outside of Paris to protect France’s national treasures from being plundered by the Nazis. Active in the resistance against Nazi occupation, she survived interrogation by the Nazis.
Her spirit throughout her illustrious career was defiant and fearless. She put that spirit to use while working in many archaeological digs in Egypt, developing a name for herself as a leading Egyptologist. Her passion for Egypt’s ancient monuments, statues, and artefacts never wavered. She overcame what seemed to be insurmountable challenges in convincing countries to donate huge sums of money to rescue the Nubian temple of Abu Simbel from drowning. Had it not been for her persistence and dauntless attitude, Abu Simbel would have drowned upon the completion of the Aswan Dam. Among the many who played a key role in securing funding for the project was Jacqueline Kennedy.
Deroches was instrumental in bringing the treasures of Tutankhamun for tours in the west and for nurturing a fascination for Ancient Egypt among western audiences. Her passion for all things Ancient Egypt was infectious. She spoke of the pharaohs, their wives and children as if they were living entities, sparking enthusiasm in all who heard her. Undeterred by being a lone female in what was then a male-dominated field, Deroches forged ahead, chipping away at obstacles until she achieved her goal of rescuing Ancient Egyptian treasures. She cultivated constructive relations with museum heads and heads of governments. She developed a wonderful rapport with the Egyptian laborers who worked with her on the many archaeological digs, treating them with respect and courtesy, and earning their loyalty.
Olson incorporates a biography of Egypt in the early to mid-twentieth century—its role in WWII, changes in government, the rise of Gamal Abdul Nasser, Suez, and the Arab-Israeli war. She also includes the Louvre’s history and its emergence as a world-class museum. These serve as a backdrop to the narrative, highlighting the many global events against which Deroches had to navigate. Her style is fast-paced and engaging. Her account of transporting the giant monuments at Abu Simbel reads like a thriller, detailing the incredible feat of engineering, the minute calculations required, and the unprecedent level of international cooperation that went into their successful transport to higher ground. She includes some incredible photographs of the removal of the statues and colossi.
Through her extensive and well-documented research, Lynne Olson has brought to life a remarkable, strong-willed, and fascinating woman to whom the world owes a deep debt of gratitude for rescuing some of the world’s most outstanding ancient monuments.