Fun Facts Friday: Amelia Edwards

Amelia Edwards (7 June, 1831 – 15 April, 1892) a novelist, journalist and Egyptologist from England. She was well known for her ghost story The Phantom Coach and A Thousand Miles Up the Nile, a travelogue.

Books by Amelia Edwards*

Fun Facts about Amelia Edwards:

1. The author was born in London, England as Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards. Her father was an officer in the British army, and then a banker.
2. As a youth, Ms. Edwards already showed a promising writing career and would publish her first poem at age seven, and at age 12 she published her firs story.
3. The young Ms. Edwards also showed great talent as an artist, she would illustrate her writings, though not all, and paint scenes from books she read.
4. Not to be outdone, Ms. Edwards also composed and performed music, but a bout of Typhus made it difficult for her to sing and she lost interest.
5. Ms. Edwards was very active of the suffrage movement and even served as the Vice-President of the Society for Promoting Women’s Suffrage.
6. On average it took Ms. Edwards two years to write a book, which included meticulous research.
7. In A Thousand Miles Up the Nile (1877), Ms. Edwards writes about her travels to Egypt, sailing up the Nile and spending weeks excavating the Temple of Ramses II. By the end of the trip Ms. Edwards caught the Egyptology bug.
8. Upon returning to England Ms. Edwards started promoting Egyptian archaeology. As an expert in writing and journalism, she drummed up interest in Egypt to raise funds for what was to become the Egypt Exploration Fund.
9. The author received no less than three honorary degrees from the College of the Sisters of Bethany and Smith College, both in Massachusetts, as well as Columbia College in New York.
10. Ms. Edwards bequeathed her collection of antiques from Egypt, as well as her extensive library, to the University College London.

Books by Amelia Edwards*

Zohar – Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account