Nephthys by Rachel Louise Driscoll

Title: Nephthys

Author: Rachel Louise Driscoll

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Penguin/Harvill Secker

Published: 4^th February 2025

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336

Price: $34.99

Synopsis: A captivating treasure of a novel about Clemmie, a young Victorian Egyptologist, and her entanglement with the legend of the goddess, Nephthys.

‘Brilliant and meticulously researched… I loved it.’ Santa Montefiore

Sister. Rival. Protector.

Quiet and reserved, Clemmie is happy in the background. Although her parents may overlook her talents, her ability to read hieroglyphs makes her invaluable at the Egyptian relic parties which have made her father the toast of Victorian society.

But at one such party, the words Clemmie interprets from an unusual amulet strike fear into her heart. The beautiful and dangerous glyphs she holds in her hands will change her life forever.

Five years later, Clemmie arrives in Egypt on a mission to save what remains of her family. The childhood game she used to play about the immortal sisters, Isis and Nephthys, has taken on a devastating resonance and it is only by following Nephthys’ story that she can undo the mistakes of the past.

On her journey up the Nile, she will meet unexpected allies and enemies and, along with long-buried secrets and betrayals, Clemmie will be forced to step into the light.

~*~

During the late nineteenth century, the world, in particular the European world was captivated by Ancient Egypt and mummies, to the point of hosting mummy unwrapping parties as Clemmie’s father does in the 1878. Five years after an unwrapping goes wrong, and unleashes a curse when twins and an amulet are unwrapped and mutilated by her father. Clemmie’s pleas to leave the sisters alone fail, and she soon sees her family descend into loss, death, and madness. She’s convinced the family has been cursed, and that the curse is linked to old games she used to play with her sister, Rosetta about Isis and Nephthys, sisters and goddesses, where one is more prominent than the other. Clemmie is disappointed that her pleas failed, that her knowledge, fostered by her father when she was a child. It’s her hieroglyphic knowledge that sparks her determination to change things, to convince her father they need to stop the unwrapping’s. So, to save what is left of her family in 1892, Clemmie heads to Egypt to follow the story and journey of Nephthys. But this journey will reveal secrets that have been buried for a long time, ensure that any betrayals come out, and make Clemmie question what she knows.

I have always been fascinated by Ancient Egypt, and will read anything I can about it, and love going to exhibitions, like the recent Ramses exhibition hosted at the Australian Museum that travelled around the world. Every fiction book I have read that features Ancient Egypt or Egyptology in some way has been different, set in a different time, using different themes, and exploring different ways of exploring this in each book I have read, whether fiction, non-fiction, for adults or for children. Nephthys is one of the more literary ones I have read, as there were a few moments where things took time to unfold and reveal its place in the story. Nephthys goes back and forth between 1892 and the years leading up to Clemmie’s departure. The chapters set in the past, that go back to Clemmie and Rosetta’s childhood all have the same title, which slowly starts to make sense as the book moves on and unwraps what is really going on, using the metaphor of mummy unwrapping. As Clemmie journeys through Egypt and reflects on her childhood and what has led to her journey, and the people she’s with, and having to grapple with, the story becomes more and more interesting and complicated, with various threads woven in and out and tugged at to reveal things at the right time. To lead to revelations for Clemmie at the right time in the novel, and to make the story unfold well, even if it does take time.

It allows things to unfold eloquently, and ensures that the story isn’t rushed, and has a mystical feel to it – it’s almost believable that everything happens because of the curse, because this fits in with the time and setting, and how people might have seen or understood their world and the world of Ancient Egypt during the nineteenth century. At first, things seem a little disjointed as Clemmie puts the pieces of her fractured family and life together, and starts to explore a world that has long captivated her embarking on a journey that she never thought she’d go on. It also examines the fascination that Europeans had with Ancient Egypt, as well as the role of education and natural affinities with things, whilst being made to feel irrelevant. Another thing that I picked up on is how Clemmie came to understand, or tried to understand things that set what she understood apart from how the Egyptians understand their history and culture, and how it has changed. It highlights stark differences in how people respond to the past and culture, and how this can influence how history and artefacts are treated.

Nephthys is an intriguing novel that explores family, myths, games and history, as well as gender, cultural differences, and how people respond to all of these or treat other people. It highlights that everyone has a learning curve, and that we need to learn who to trust. It’s filled with layers or mystery and wonder, history and intrigue as we follow Clemmie on her journey to find out what is really happening with her family and loved ones.