Cracking the Egyptian Code: The Revolutionary Life of Jean-François Champollion

Andrew Robinson

Thames & Hudson, 2018 - Biography & Autobiography - 303 pages

Cracking the Egyptian Code is the first biography in English of Jean-François Champollion, the impoverished, arrogant and brilliant child of the French Revolution who made the vital breakthrough in deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphs. This finely illustrated account charts Champollion's dramatic life and achievements: by turns a teenage professor, a supporter of Napoleon, an exile, a fanatical decipherer and a curator at the Louvre, he lived life to the full but drove himself into an early grave. Andrew Robinson's full-blooded account brings the man, his setbacks and his ultimate triumphs vividly to life.

About the author

Andrew Robinson is the author of twenty-five books in the arts and sciences, nine of them on aspects of Indian history and culture. They include two definitive biographies: Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye, described by V. S. Naipaul as 'an extraordinarily good, detailed and selfless book', and the coauthored Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man. He holds degrees from Oxford University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, has been a Visiting Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, and is currently a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Cracking the Egyptian Code: The Revolutionary Life of Jean-François Champollion
• Author: Andrew Robinson
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 2018
• ISBN: 0500294178, 9780500294178
• Length: 303 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / General; History / Ancient / Egypt; Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / General; Social Science / Archaeology