Crossing the Field of Reeds (Part Two) - An Egypt of the Mind…
It has been suggested, that the original inspiration for the Egyptian notion of passing into the afterlife, the Aaru or, ‘Field of Reeds,’ was the physical crossing of the Nile by the mummified body of the deceased. The Agriculturally cultivated East bank, was the land of the living, the mummy would be transported across the Nile and through the abundant reeds about its margins, to the arid West bank with its tombs and mortuary temples. From the land of the living, through the reeds, to the land of the dead.
As a theory, it probably doesn’t really hold up to close inspection. It’s a cool theory though and a great image. In many ways, better than the truth.
Which brings me to our book, ‘The Field of Reeds: in Shadows.’
Something you should probably understand, if you are going to read it, is that in this book we never let the truth get in the way of a good story, to steal a phrase.
There is an anecdote about the making of the epic TV mini series ‘Shogun,’ that goes this way… The crew on the shoot were part American and part Japanese. The American crew lined up a great shot of a white castle reflected in the waters of a lake, where swans serenely glided back and forth. The Japanese crew chased all the swans away. Why? Because, they quite correctly said, that there were no swans in Japan at the time this historical epic was set. The Americans promptly waited for the swans to come back and filmed the shot anyway. Why? Because it wasn’t historically accurate but it was a great shot.
We have camels in our book… there were no camels in ancient Egypt. They hadn’t arrived yet. The thing is though, unless you’re an expert in these things, you expect them to be there. Camels and Egypt? In the mind of most people, they go together like bread and butter, or strawberries and cream. Most people would find it odd if they weren’t there. So, not historically accurate but there are camels in the book.
Nearly all of the action takes place in the fertile Nile delta, well irrigated by a myriad little tributaries of the Nile. We know this but we present it as desert. Why? Because if you ask anyone what ancient Egypt was like, they will tell you it was dry and dusty, a desert.
We take many more such liberties, not least with Egyptian history, the folk lore and mythology, which is rejigged to better suit our plot, or to be entirely cat-centric (if there is such a word).
The thing is, this is a fantasy book, it is not historical fiction. If it was historical fiction, we wouldn’t do it. Perhaps we should have set the book in the land of Tpyge or some other anagram of Egypt but that seemed pointless when it would so obviously be Egypt.
No, we just wanted to be free of that sort of thing, to let our imaginations roam and build the world we wanted.
So, although, ‘The Field of Reeds’ is set in ancient Egypt, it is an Egypt of the mind. Not Egypt as it ever was, or ever could have been. It is a fantasy of Egypt, a beautiful dream of a bygone time that never was.
We hope you will forgive us our trespasses and enjoy the story.
The Field of Reeds in Shadows
As a theory, it probably doesn’t really hold up to close inspection. It’s a cool theory though and a great image. In many ways, better than the truth.
Which brings me to our book, ‘The Field of Reeds: in Shadows.’
Something you should probably understand, if you are going to read it, is that in this book we never let the truth get in the way of a good story, to steal a phrase.
There is an anecdote about the making of the epic TV mini series ‘Shogun,’ that goes this way… The crew on the shoot were part American and part Japanese. The American crew lined up a great shot of a white castle reflected in the waters of a lake, where swans serenely glided back and forth. The Japanese crew chased all the swans away. Why? Because, they quite correctly said, that there were no swans in Japan at the time this historical epic was set. The Americans promptly waited for the swans to come back and filmed the shot anyway. Why? Because it wasn’t historically accurate but it was a great shot.
We have camels in our book… there were no camels in ancient Egypt. They hadn’t arrived yet. The thing is though, unless you’re an expert in these things, you expect them to be there. Camels and Egypt? In the mind of most people, they go together like bread and butter, or strawberries and cream. Most people would find it odd if they weren’t there. So, not historically accurate but there are camels in the book.
Nearly all of the action takes place in the fertile Nile delta, well irrigated by a myriad little tributaries of the Nile. We know this but we present it as desert. Why? Because if you ask anyone what ancient Egypt was like, they will tell you it was dry and dusty, a desert.
We take many more such liberties, not least with Egyptian history, the folk lore and mythology, which is rejigged to better suit our plot, or to be entirely cat-centric (if there is such a word).
The thing is, this is a fantasy book, it is not historical fiction. If it was historical fiction, we wouldn’t do it. Perhaps we should have set the book in the land of Tpyge or some other anagram of Egypt but that seemed pointless when it would so obviously be Egypt.
No, we just wanted to be free of that sort of thing, to let our imaginations roam and build the world we wanted.
So, although, ‘The Field of Reeds’ is set in ancient Egypt, it is an Egypt of the mind. Not Egypt as it ever was, or ever could have been. It is a fantasy of Egypt, a beautiful dream of a bygone time that never was.
We hope you will forgive us our trespasses and enjoy the story.
The Field of Reeds in Shadows
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