The research shelf
Books & bibliography
A selected map of the fiction and historical writing, organized by original French title.
Selected works, not a complete catalogue. Years below refer to original French publication where verified. Translation and edition notes are separate; no current availability is promised.
Fiction
A family narrative; the first novel and recipient of the Prix Méditerranée. English title recorded as Birds of Passage.
A historical novel opening with Maxime Touta in Alexandria. English title recorded as The Alexandria Semaphore.
A novel involving photography and artistic recognition in nineteenth-century Egypt. English title: The Photographer’s Wife.
Basile Batrakani and the relationships created through favors in France.
A return to Cairo and an evening hosted by Dina in a former family home.
A novel set in the fictional Mediterranean port of Nari, centered on a hotel and its social world.
Fiction connected with the Luxor obelisk’s journey; distinct from the 2004 nonfiction book.
For community reading lists and edition discovery, the Goodreads author catalogue is a supplementary resource. It is not presented as an account owned by this website, and community ratings are not reproduced as evidence of literary quality.
Selected nonfiction
Cultural and historical relations between Egypt and France.
Scientific participants in the Egyptian expedition.
A personal, alphabetically organized approach to Egyptian subjects.
Historical nonfiction about the movement of the Luxor obelisk.
The Egyptian expedition; the year follows the publisher record.
Portraits concerned with modern Egyptian history.
A history of Egyptology.
A biography of the ruler associated with nineteenth-century reform.
For community reading lists and edition discovery, the Goodreads author catalogue is a supplementary resource. It is not presented as an account owned by this website, and community ratings are not reproduced as evidence of literary quality.
Coauthored work and edition notes
La Pierre de Rosette was written with Dominique Valbelle. Consulted records differ between an earlier publication and a later edition, so this selection does not assign an original year. Search the precise edition you need rather than treating every catalogue date as the first publication.
English titles documented in the consulted biographical reference include Birds of Passage, The Photographer’s Wife, and The Alexandria Semaphore. For The Photographer’s Wife, the reference names John Brownjohn as translator. Check your own copy for its translator, publisher, and date before citing it.
How to use this selection
For a first choice, visit the reading guide. For a nonfiction route, see the Egyptian history books. The BnF authority record connects the author to a wider catalogue, while the Seuil author page provides publisher records. Contemporary Authors on Encyclopedia.com supplies the translation references used here.
Sources may contain inconsistencies. This site follows the author’s autobiographical account for the 1964 move to France, rather than the conflicting year in the older BnF note. For Bonaparte à la conquête de l’Égypte, the publisher’s 2006 record takes precedence over an inconsistent heading in the author’s essay list.
For community reading lists and edition discovery, the Goodreads author catalogue is a supplementary resource. It is not presented as an account owned by this website, and community ratings are not reproduced as evidence of literary quality.