W. M. Flinders Petrie: Egyptian Tales

Formatted for Web Viewing

The alternative "class versions" of three of the tales have been retouched, edited, and introduced especially for use in class discussions. (Link)

Colophon for Series 1:
PETRIE, W.M. Flinders (ed.)
1899 Egyptian tales translated from the papyri. First series, IVth to XIIth dynasty. Illustrated by Tristan Ellis. New York: Frederick A. Stokes. LC: PJ1949.P3 1899.
Hold mouse over pictures to read captions.

Series 1

1. Petrie's Introduction
2. Tales of the Magicians (4th Dynasty)
   • Khafra's Tale
   • Baufra's Tale
   • Hordedef's Tale
   • (Remarks)
3. The Peasant and the Workman (Remarks) (9th Dynasty)
   (Class Discussion Version: The Eloquent Peasant)
4. The Shipwrecked Sailor (Remarks) (12th Dynasty)
5. The Adventures of Sanehat [Sinuhe] (Remarks) (12th Dynasty)

Colophon for Series 2:
PETRIE, W.M. Flinders (ed.)
1899 Egyptian tales translated from the papyri. Second series, XVIIIth to XIXth dynasty. Illustrated by Tristan Ellis. New York: Frederick A. Stokes. (2nd edition, 1913). LC: PJ1949.P3 1899.
Hold mouse over pictures to read captions.

Series 2

6. Petrie's Preface
7. The Taking of Joppa (Remarks) (18th Dynasty)
   (Class Discussion Version: Taking Joppa by Ruse)
8. The Doomed Prince (Remarks) (18th Dynasty)
9. Anpu and Bata (Remarks) (19th Dynasty)
10. Setna and the Magic Book (Remarks) (Composed in the Ptolomaic Period or "32nd Dynasty")
    (Class Discussion Version: Prince Setna and the Magic Book of Thoth)

Overview by D.K. Jordan

W.M. Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) was one of the greatest Egyptologists of his era. In addition to his more technical works, he edited two volumes of ancient Egyptian popular stories with the hope that they could bring Egyptian imaginative literature to the attention of a wider, non-scholarly public.

The two volumes, now out of copyright, are here reproduced, including pictures, with only minimal modification needed to make them easily read on line. This page contains the colophon information and a full table of contents for both volumes. Each individual tale, with commentary, occupies its own page, as does Petrie's introduction to each volume .

• Petrie preferred to keep his commentary and "scholarly apparatus" as unobtrusive as possible so that the reader could concentrate on the tale itself. Accordingly he placed his "remarks" at the end of each story so as not to interrupt its flow. Although rather dated today, most readers will find his observations well worth reading. In this presentation, they are distinguished by being shown in maroon type.
• Because some stories were preserved in incomplete form, Petrie added introductions in some cases. He marked these with end markers that I have amplified as "[end of Petrie's interpolated introduction]."
• Petrie released these tales as two "series" rather than separate volumes of the same work. The section numbering was added by me.

In accord with Petrie's original intent, I hope that an attractive on-line availability will make these delightful tales a pleasure to another generation of readers.

DKJ

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