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In a series like this, a little history helps. Egypt was conquered by Turkey in 1517. Turkey governed with the help of the Mamelukes, who were white slaves, mainly Circassian, trained as powerful warriors, who later took over power and predominated under Turkey as the ruling class. The Mamelukes were massacred in 1811 by an Albanian in the Turkish service, Mehemet Ali Pasha, founder of the dynasty that ruled Egypt until 1953, but some Mameluke descendants were still among the upper class (and we find them mentioned in the Mamur Zapt series). The French and English began assuming control of Egypt's stressed economy with the building of the Suez Canal, and following the defeat of a national revolt in 1881-2, the British occupied Egypt. Egypt still was under the suzerainty of Turkey, as represented by a viceroy called the Khedive, but the British actually controlled the civil service, even though there were various Egyptians nominally in charge. As author Michael Pearce makes clear in THE SPOILS OF EGYPT, the pashas, powerful hereditary lords, still maintained large fiefdoms and exerted much influence, especially outside Cairo and Alexandria. The Mamur Zapt was a position as chief of the secret service to protect the rule of the Khedives, and this was continued under the British. In 1908, when this novel takes place, the Mamur Zapt was a Welsh captain in the British Army named Gareth Owen, who took his orders from the British Consul General. He worked with various other British and Egyptian officials to carry out his job. Egypt was still economically weak, and the legal and illegal export of antiquities from ancient tombs and other memorials produced much needed foreign currency. The U.S. and the stronger European countries had special privileges in Egypt, and laws against even illegal antiquity exports were not enforced strongly, although certain spectacular antiquities were more aggressively protected. Enter an American woman, Miss Skinner, thirtyish, the niece of a popular candidate for President of the U.S., and far from being your everyday 1908-variety of shy, retiring lady. She has come to Egypt on behalf of an American society that wants to preserve antiquities in the countries of origin, and she looks askance on the loose controls that both the Egyptians and the British maintain on exports. She visits a site being excavated at Der el Bahari, where two non-villager laborers have already been killed. Miss Skinner herself had already been in an accident in Cairo that may or may not have been a murder attempt. At Der el Bahari she finds herself in trouble in an excavation chamber, and the Mamur Zapt goes from Cairo to investigate. She behaves strangely toward him and other officials, sometimes quite warm and sometimes wanting very much for them to leave her alone as she goes about her mysterious walks. The Mamur Zapt has a romance going on with Zeinab, illegitimate daughter of a powerful pasha. Another powerful pasha makes a play for Miss Skinner and gets along swimmingly with her. Obviously there is more than meets the eye here, and the Mamur Zapt tries to sort things out. We're never quite sure who are the good guys and who the bad ones are until we get close to the end. One very commendable aspect of this story is the way it complements Elizabeth Peters's novels about Amelia Peabody and company. Their respective time periods overlap, and both are heavily concerned with antiquities, perhaps only sometimes for the Mamur Zapt, but the Egyptian background is always present in both. Reading both series, we gain a far better idea of late Victorian/Edwardian Egypt than would be the case if we only read one or the other. To enjoy the Mamur Zapt books, however, we have to understand the author's Spartan style. He does not set up his scenes, rather, for example, a new scene starts suddenly with one character speaking to another. Later in the conversation a third party speaks, and thus we learn that there are more than two people present. Sometimes we learn, very gradually, that there are more than three, perhaps four or five, as a new voice joins in. Understsanding that, I think, makes for better reading. I enjoyed this book considerably. The setting is outstanding, and the historical value is just what I like. However, the plot is also interesting for its own sake, and there is nothing dry about it. The author, Michael Pearce, was the winner of CWA's The Last Laugh Award, and without knowing anything more about it, I find myself pausing to think. If it means late recognition, then at least justice is done, for this is the kind of book that well deserves recognition. I've just finished also reading a second book in this series, and intend to review it. The Mamur Zapts are a jolly lovely series, and I'd recommend the books to readers of discerning tastes. Into this milieu comes a strong-minded, thirtyish American woman,
Reviewed by Eugene Aubrey Stratton, September 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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