This 1836 work by Samuel Sharpe ‎(‎1799‎-1881‎)‎ is the first of two volumes on the history of ancient Egypt‎;‎ the second‎,‎ dealing with the Ptolemaic period‎,‎ is also reissued in this series‎.‎ From a banking family‎,‎ Sharpe was fascinated by Thomas Young‎'‎s and Champollion‎'‎s work in deciphering the hieroglyphs‎.‎ He taught himself Coptic‎,‎ and compiled his own hieroglyphic vocabulary lists‎.‎ His facility for decipherment was assisted by a natural gift for solving cryptograms‎,‎ but his inferences sometimes led him into error‎.‎ His objective in this book is ‎'‎to collect out of the writings of the ancients every particular relating to the History of Egypt‎'‎‎,‎ marshalling ancient authorities including the Old Testament‎,‎ Herodotus‎,‎ Diodorus Siculus and the Ptolemaic priest Manetho‎,‎ whose division of the rulers into dynasties is still relied on‎.‎ The second part of the book uses this evidence to discuss Egyptian life‎,‎ language‎,‎ beliefs and customs‎.‎