January of 1922, a young girl and her guardian travel to
Cairo. Recovering from illness, Lucy Payne is slowly coaxed out of her malaise
with picnics under the pyramids, tea parties with archaeologists, and ballet
lessons with her new friends Rose and Frances. Returning home to a devious
tutor and absent father, Lucy has only her growing library of Egyptian lore to
keep her company.
The Visitors by
Sally Beauman also introduces us to Lucy in her nineties. Here, she reminisces with Rose while evading the
prying questions of a documentary filmmaker. Their conversation foreshadows
Carter's discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun and Lucy's own
discoveries regarding Carter.
Whether traveling through 1922 Cairo or 2002 Highgate,
Beauman's characters are well-drawn to time and place. The reader, in turn, is
drawn into the mystery of this multi-layered tale. And won't want to leave.
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