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Ramses II: An Illustrated Biography
BOOK IN AN EXCELLENT STATE / DISPATCHED AS SOON AS ORDERED FROM FRANCE BY PLANE.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionEgypt
252 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
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118 people want to read
About the author
Christiane Desroches Noblecourt
43 books16 followersFamous French archaeologist, a specialist in ancient Egypt. She was deeply involved in the rescue and preservation of Nubian monuments in the face of the Aswan Dam Project of the late 1950's.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 28, 2012
I expected this would be nostalgic: Ramesses II used to be my favourite pharaoh and I read obsessively about him back in 2004/05. I'm still fond of him now, so when I saw this going cheap at a bookshop, I grabbed myself a copy.
The presentation is gorgeous – I loved that glossary terms are defined in the margin of the page they first appear, rather than having a glossary section at the back that you'd have to flick to each time you wanted to look something up. The photos and illustrations are also, generally, high-quality, and it's an excellent visual reference for anyone interested in the life and times of Ramesses II. Nearly every image that Desroches Noblecourt references is included, the only thing that I felt was missing were scenes from the tomb Ramesses' mother, Mut-Tuya.
The text, however, is a disappointment. I will cut it a bit of slack: I think the book is meant for a more casual reader. It's a smallish coffee-table book style, and completely lacking in footnotes. By the nature of the book, I would – and shouldn't – expect an in-depth biography of Ramesses.
However, even working with that assumption, the text itself is a major letdown. I'm not sure who is to blame – Desroches Noblecourt herself, the abridger or the translator – but there are clear issues with the text. This is disappointing after the blurb singles out the writing style for being "highly entertaining". The text is littered with complicated words and/or phrases that are simply unnecessary and off-putting for a casual reader. My reaction, so many times, was as follows:
I did want for footnotes – or at least, a selected biography that listed more than the author's other books. There were a number of times where I was reading something, and I wanted to know exactly where it had been sourced from, such as the detailed account of Ramesses's coronation. Additionally, Desroches Noblecourt discussed Ramesses taking inspiration from pharaohs that would have been taboo in his day: Hatshesput and Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten. I didn't quite buy into this idea, knowing that Ramesses continued the destruction of Akhenaten's monuments and memory, at least, but I would be interested to read more about this theory.
There was a very obvious mistake made early on, when only the Nineteenth and Twentieth dynasties are assigned to the New Kingdom. It's hard to believe that an experienced Egyptologist like Desroches Noblecourt would make such a mistake, so I think it must have been caused by the translation or the abridgement.
Additionally, I didn't feel the need for a five page discussion of the Exodus and whether Ramesses was involved or not. In such an abbreviated book, a discussion with so few conclusions is not really needed. It would have been better to note, somewhere, that there is no evidence that can conclusively tie the Exodus to the reign of any pharaoh, let alone Ramesses II.
There is some good: I quite enjoyed the chapter on Ramesses' building work, framed as Nefertari's (Ramesses' chief queen) journey down the Nile to see the Abu Simbel temples, describing what she would have seen there and on her way. It was quite evocative, and easy to imagine it as a real scene from Nefertari's life.
Desroches Noblecourt is also clearly very fond of Ramesses, which I appreciate, but her writing isn't openly biased and isn't always seeking to make Ramesses the hero, which I appreciate even more.
For those looking for a biography of Ramesses II, I would recommend Joyce Tyldesley's Ramesses: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh or K. A. Kitchen's Pharaoh Triumphant in place of this book.
I'm giving this half a star for the presentation, otherwise it would be 2.5 stars.
The presentation is gorgeous – I loved that glossary terms are defined in the margin of the page they first appear, rather than having a glossary section at the back that you'd have to flick to each time you wanted to look something up. The photos and illustrations are also, generally, high-quality, and it's an excellent visual reference for anyone interested in the life and times of Ramesses II. Nearly every image that Desroches Noblecourt references is included, the only thing that I felt was missing were scenes from the tomb Ramesses' mother, Mut-Tuya.
The text, however, is a disappointment. I will cut it a bit of slack: I think the book is meant for a more casual reader. It's a smallish coffee-table book style, and completely lacking in footnotes. By the nature of the book, I would – and shouldn't – expect an in-depth biography of Ramesses.
However, even working with that assumption, the text itself is a major letdown. I'm not sure who is to blame – Desroches Noblecourt herself, the abridger or the translator – but there are clear issues with the text. This is disappointing after the blurb singles out the writing style for being "highly entertaining". The text is littered with complicated words and/or phrases that are simply unnecessary and off-putting for a casual reader. My reaction, so many times, was as follows:
I did want for footnotes – or at least, a selected biography that listed more than the author's other books. There were a number of times where I was reading something, and I wanted to know exactly where it had been sourced from, such as the detailed account of Ramesses's coronation. Additionally, Desroches Noblecourt discussed Ramesses taking inspiration from pharaohs that would have been taboo in his day: Hatshesput and Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten. I didn't quite buy into this idea, knowing that Ramesses continued the destruction of Akhenaten's monuments and memory, at least, but I would be interested to read more about this theory.
There was a very obvious mistake made early on, when only the Nineteenth and Twentieth dynasties are assigned to the New Kingdom. It's hard to believe that an experienced Egyptologist like Desroches Noblecourt would make such a mistake, so I think it must have been caused by the translation or the abridgement.
Additionally, I didn't feel the need for a five page discussion of the Exodus and whether Ramesses was involved or not. In such an abbreviated book, a discussion with so few conclusions is not really needed. It would have been better to note, somewhere, that there is no evidence that can conclusively tie the Exodus to the reign of any pharaoh, let alone Ramesses II.
There is some good: I quite enjoyed the chapter on Ramesses' building work, framed as Nefertari's (Ramesses' chief queen) journey down the Nile to see the Abu Simbel temples, describing what she would have seen there and on her way. It was quite evocative, and easy to imagine it as a real scene from Nefertari's life.
Desroches Noblecourt is also clearly very fond of Ramesses, which I appreciate, but her writing isn't openly biased and isn't always seeking to make Ramesses the hero, which I appreciate even more.
For those looking for a biography of Ramesses II, I would recommend Joyce Tyldesley's Ramesses: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh or K. A. Kitchen's Pharaoh Triumphant in place of this book.
I'm giving this half a star for the presentation, otherwise it would be 2.5 stars.
January 20, 2022
"Ramsés II. La verdadera historia" es el ensayo histórico sobre la vida del gran faraón Ramsés II, resultado de la investigación que durante más de treinta años llevó a cabo la egiptóloga francesa Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt.
Ramsés II era hijo de Seti I y Tuya, y recibió el nombre de coronación de Usermaatra Setepenra. Fue el tercer faraón de la dinastía XIX, y gobernó Egipto durante unos 66 años, desde el 1279 a. C. hasta el 1213 a. C. Murió con 90 años, sobreviviendo a muchos de sus descendientes y esposas. Su Gran Esposa Real fue Nefertari, aunque posteriormente tuvo otras, así como concubinas, con las que engendró cientos de hijos e hijas. Es uno de los faraones más conocidos del Antiguo Egipto.
La lectura de este ensayo, escrito por una de las mayores especialistas en egiptología como es Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, provoca la necesidad de ir leyendo con calma el libro, ya que se plantea muchísima información biográfica del faraón, así como fotografías, reproducciones de pinturas y bajorrelieves, mapas... que ayudan a la comprensión y situación de los distintas ciudades, templos, monumentos y otras construcciones que ordenó hacer Ramsés II.
Una larga vida que le dio la oportunidad de ampliar el territorio egipcio, enfrentándose a los hititas en la famosa batalla de Qadesh.
No os puedo resumir aquí la extensa y productiva (en todos los sentidos 😉) vida de Ramsés II, y por eso os animo a leer esta biografía, sobre todo a los que os gusta la historia del Antiguo Egipto como a mí.
Ramsés II era hijo de Seti I y Tuya, y recibió el nombre de coronación de Usermaatra Setepenra. Fue el tercer faraón de la dinastía XIX, y gobernó Egipto durante unos 66 años, desde el 1279 a. C. hasta el 1213 a. C. Murió con 90 años, sobreviviendo a muchos de sus descendientes y esposas. Su Gran Esposa Real fue Nefertari, aunque posteriormente tuvo otras, así como concubinas, con las que engendró cientos de hijos e hijas. Es uno de los faraones más conocidos del Antiguo Egipto.
La lectura de este ensayo, escrito por una de las mayores especialistas en egiptología como es Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, provoca la necesidad de ir leyendo con calma el libro, ya que se plantea muchísima información biográfica del faraón, así como fotografías, reproducciones de pinturas y bajorrelieves, mapas... que ayudan a la comprensión y situación de los distintas ciudades, templos, monumentos y otras construcciones que ordenó hacer Ramsés II.
Una larga vida que le dio la oportunidad de ampliar el territorio egipcio, enfrentándose a los hititas en la famosa batalla de Qadesh.
No os puedo resumir aquí la extensa y productiva (en todos los sentidos 😉) vida de Ramsés II, y por eso os animo a leer esta biografía, sobre todo a los que os gusta la historia del Antiguo Egipto como a mí.
June 1, 2013
This intimate and detailed account of the life of Ramses the Great was absolutely wonderful with its details and thoroughness. Also one of the first books on Egyptian culture which addressed the complexities of the Exodus. So much light shed on this fascinating and well know figure. A great read for anyone interested in this Pharaoh and the nineteenth dynasty.
April 11, 2015
Christiane Desroches Noblecourt is a major expert on Ramses II and is credited with being a good writer, but I found this book very disappointing. It does contain much good information on the subject, but it was rather confusingly written. Partly this may be because it was "an abridged version of research that appeared in . . . Ramses II, La veritable histoire" so either the abridgement or the translation could be responsible.
The book is very well illustrated -- about half illustrations, like a coffee table book though not quite as large -- but there is a disconnect between text and illustrations. For instance, the very first sentence of the first chapter says, "There was once a great soldier . . . It was Pharaoh Horemheb (1327-1295 BCE)"; the picture caption on the same page reads "Horemheb, last king of Egypt of the Eighteenth Dynasty, reigned 1333-1306 BCE." I thought at first, maybe the text was his lifespan, and the caption his reign -- but that would make him Pharaoh at six (he was actually an elderly general when he usurped the throne) and reigning for eleven years after he died. Throughout the book, proper names of people, gods and places are given in different forms in the text and in the captions (e.g. Tawaret vs. Tueris for the goddess of fertility) and sometimes even at different places in the text itself (e.g. Amenhotep vs. Amenophis). The text emphasizes places on a route which are not shown on the accompanying map, which is obviously drawn to illustrate that text.
Desroches several times states that Ramses was influenced by Hatshepsut and Akhenaten -- which is far from accepted, to say the least -- but gives no examples or explanations of why she thinks this. She mentions that the mummy was embalmed with tobacco leaves, but doesn't give any explanation of this claim which has been very controversial (tobacco isn't supposed to have existed in the Old World before Columbus.) Perhaps these matters were dealt with more fully in the original French book.
I can't really recommend this -- which is a shame, since it is by far the most recent book our local library has on the subject.
The book is very well illustrated -- about half illustrations, like a coffee table book though not quite as large -- but there is a disconnect between text and illustrations. For instance, the very first sentence of the first chapter says, "There was once a great soldier . . . It was Pharaoh Horemheb (1327-1295 BCE)"; the picture caption on the same page reads "Horemheb, last king of Egypt of the Eighteenth Dynasty, reigned 1333-1306 BCE." I thought at first, maybe the text was his lifespan, and the caption his reign -- but that would make him Pharaoh at six (he was actually an elderly general when he usurped the throne) and reigning for eleven years after he died. Throughout the book, proper names of people, gods and places are given in different forms in the text and in the captions (e.g. Tawaret vs. Tueris for the goddess of fertility) and sometimes even at different places in the text itself (e.g. Amenhotep vs. Amenophis). The text emphasizes places on a route which are not shown on the accompanying map, which is obviously drawn to illustrate that text.
Desroches several times states that Ramses was influenced by Hatshepsut and Akhenaten -- which is far from accepted, to say the least -- but gives no examples or explanations of why she thinks this. She mentions that the mummy was embalmed with tobacco leaves, but doesn't give any explanation of this claim which has been very controversial (tobacco isn't supposed to have existed in the Old World before Columbus.) Perhaps these matters were dealt with more fully in the original French book.
I can't really recommend this -- which is a shame, since it is by far the most recent book our local library has on the subject.
September 2, 2023
El más completo que he leído sobre Ramsés II, y también el peor escrito, lleno de frases y párrafos inconexos. Si es de la traducción o del original, no lo sé, pero a veces no sabes ni a quién se refiere.
July 10, 2025
J’ai presque mis trois mois à le lire, mais c’était hyper interessant. C’est un gros pavé d’histoire donc forcément c’est difficile de retenir les informations qu’il contient mais j’ai quand même appris des choses. Je vous le conseille mais il faut s’accrocher parce que c’est compliqué à lire.
April 8, 2023
Excellente reconstruction de la vie de Ramses II par une archéologue de renom.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews