Howard Carter and the Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun

by H.V.F. Winstone

Told with distinction and graphic tension, here is the life story of Howard Carter, most famous of archaeologists, and the incredible story of the discovery of those "wonderful things" and the splendor of the most memorial of all royal legends.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Biography

Paperback

First published March 3, 1991

About the author

Harry Victor Frederick Winstone, FRGS

Reviews

[DAJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most extensive biography of Carter aside from Howard Carter: The Path to Tutankhamun by T. G. H. James, and though James's book is more thorough and rigorous, I have to say that Winstone's is significantly more readable. His writing style is a bit odd, in a way that I find difficult to describe, yet it is lively and gives the book the narrative momentum that James's biography lacks. In a few cases I'm uncertain about his handling of the evidence. For instance, James was never able to determine what Carter did during his brief stint working for the Foreign Office in Egypt during World War I, but Winstone claims to know, without stating where he got his information from. Yet for the most part he seems to have done his research, and he does express reservations about one dubious source of information, Richard Adamson, whose claim to have guarded Tutankhamun's tomb during the excavation seems to be false.

This revised edition may be hard to come by (for some reason it's not listed on Amazon), compared with the original from 1991. Apparently the only differences between the two are minor prose corrections, some added illustrations, and the addition of a short biography of Lord Carnarvon's wife Almina, whose money funded the clearance of the tomb even after her husband had died. The difference may not be major, but the revised edition is probably preferable if you can find it. The chapter about Almina Carnarvon is rather funny; because she was the illegitimate but acknowledged daughter of Alfred de Rothschild, who indulged her endlessly, she seems to have lacked any concept of money. Yet her extravagance mainly manifested as wildly impractical generosity—including toward her late husband's last passion project, the most famous archaeological discovery in history.

[Stefano · Rating 3 out of 5]

kind of different of what I was expecting: it's a very well-documented account of the whole thing.
just.. too documented, and terribly boring

[Christine Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history about the life of Howard Carter and his discovery of the boy king.

[Lilly Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book in theory.. drier than the sands of the Valley of Kings in execution. Points for the painstaking degree of historical accuracy?

[William Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

The late H F V ( Victor ) Winstone spent over five years researching this book on Howard Carter, a man who everyone has heard of from their schooldays, those sleepy history lessons about the far from hunky Indiana Jones like archaeologist, but of a dullish man, yet someone who was once Old King Tutankhamun's beating heart on earth. It was Carter's persistence that kept his collaborator Lord Carnarvon pouring tens of thousands of pounds into moving mountains of sand and rubble across the arid desert in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. The depth of Winstone's enquiries, his great sense of staying power, knowledge and stark information gathering shows through. I much admire this book's style, the outstanding images and photographs are unsurpassed by any of the other decent Egyptian and Carter scholars- Drs James and Reeves- are two, but even those of the first wave of great picture driven retrospectives of the tomb, begun in 1963, by the Frenchwoman Christine Desroches- Noblecourt. I also praise the vantage point taken by Winstone in his book, since he thought Carter was in a way a lost treasure at the time the idea for the book was kick-started. Winstone thought the absence of a biography on Carter was a hugely missed opportunity at the time of the 1972 Tutankhamun Exhibition, in London's British Museum. But rightly at that great line up of over one million people ( and this included the reviewer, when a law student, aged 19 ) the golden mask of Tutankhamun dwarfed Carter, Carnarvon, and all those caught up in the Mummy's tale. Another later book that put icy cold water on Carter's memory was the shadow that was exposed by the crafty American Curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the late Thomas Hoving in the explosive " Tutankhamun: The Untold Story" which branded Carter and Carnarvon thieves and robbers since it was argued (using persuasive evidence) that they almost certainly secretly entered the tomb and smuggled out several choice items. All that aside, Winstone was born to write Carter's life story. The book, first published in 1991, shines as an example of an author who not only wrote well, but put his own heart and soul into every single project. In 2008, after finishing a read through of this Barzan edition of the book - published in 2006 - with its Appendix on Almina Countess of Carnarvon, a courageous piece of writing, I felt I understood Carter and Almina better. That said, Almina's compilation is far from being a complete story, there are gaping holes in the narrative. for instance Winstone was not prepared to face headon the paternity issue that forms a key element of The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon. Nor was he willing to expose Almina's carnal affairs.

But my misgivings aside about the handling of Almina's story, Winstone felt he had to show restraint, and I was fortunate enough to have Victor Winstone's personal advice, help and kindness shown to me, when some way through my own researches into the biography of Almina I needed a Tutankhamun - Carter- expert. Winstone was generous and swift at responding and also introduced me to a close informant in the Almina story. I hold Victor Winstone's memory as Carter's biographer in great repect and admiration.

Winstone was pleased that this book was revived by Barzan - and as we approach the 90th anniversary of the discovery of the historic Tomb, it is this book that should be made available to schools and public for to glean the very best insight into Carter and his life long pursuit for closure on Old King Tut.

[Sophia Dunkin-Hubby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched and fleshed out biography of Howard Carter. The author does a fairly good job of balancing, or at least examining, widely different opinions of the man with facts while drawing mostly satisfying conclusions. It is a bit dry in places, but over all fairly easy to read. It does not delve into the contents of the Tomb in too much detail, but focuses on the chronology of discovery. It also does a good job of giving a sketch of what was going on in Egypt at the time politically which is crucial to the "story". An informative read.

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful bio on Howard Carter, the archaeologist who discovered the Tomb of Tutankhamen.

[Daniela Sorgente · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il libro è molto interessante e piuttosto scorrevole, anche se a volte è troppo dettagliato quando descrive pasticci politici e burocratici.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

That historical egyptologist is amazing, what a determination he had!!