The Life of Margaret Alice Murray: A Woman's Work in Archaeology - Hardcover

Sheppard, Kathleen L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0739174177 ISBN 13: 9780739174173

Publisher: Lexington Books, 2013

Synopsis

The Life of Margaret Alice Murray: A Woman's Work in Archaeology, by Kathleen L. Sheppard, is a scientific biography of Margaret Alice Murray (1863-1963), exploring all the facets of "women's work" in the history of archaeology and academia in the first half of the 20th century. This is not another "Great Woman" in place of a "Great Man" biography, but is instead the unlikely story of the first professional female Egyptologist in Britain who has so far been largely ignored by historians.

About this title

Review:

This delightful book is the first full analysis of Margaret Murray's productive and colourful life. Based on sound scholarship, Kathleen L. Sheppard successfully brings to life a 'small and energetic' woman who is revealed to have been a crucial link between nineteenth- and twentieth-century Egyptology, between the world of the amateur and the professional, and between the worlds of women and men. Brightly researched, clearly and coherently written, this is a book for all audiences and all ages. It is a joy to read.--Pamela Jane Smith, University of Cambridge

Kathleen L. Sheppard's biography of Margaret Murray, an important, but largely overlooked figure, makes an important contribution to the study of the history of Egyptology and archeology. Sheppard's approach, and in particular her focus on the social context of Murray's work, and her position as a woman working in a series of male-dominated worlds in Britain and in Egypt, of academia and archeology in particular, is especially enlightening.--Christopher Naunton, Egypt Exploration Society

A biography of Margaret Murray has been long overdue. . . .Sheppard . . . writes with lucidity and purpose; she has the rare gift of being able to engage her reader throughout the 267 densely packed pages. . . .This biography is a meticulously researched work, which it has been very well worth the waiting for, by a writer who has an intrepid capacity for ferreting about in archives and in graveyards.--Egyptian Archaeology

This new book constitutes by far the most in-depth examination of this fascinating scholar yet published. . . .This biography is written in a clear and engaging manner, and is structured in a way that appropriately juggles both chronological and thematic elements of Murray's life.--Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism

About the Author:

Kathleen L. Sheppard is assistant professor of history at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

About this edition

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0739174177
• ISBN 13: 9780739174173
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 292