Enter a world of ancient secrets old money new ambitions and the discovery of priceless
treasure in this revelatory new biography. Between November 1922 and spring 1923 a door to the
ancient Egyptian world was opened. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun would be the most
astonishing archaeological find of the century revealing not only the boy pharaoh's preserved
remains but thousands of finely crafted objects from the iconic gold mask and coffins to a
dagger made from meteorite chalices beautiful furniture and even 3000-year-old food and wine.
The world's understanding of Ancient Egyptian civilisation was immeasurably enhanced and the
quantity and richness of the objects in the tomb is still being studied today. Two men were
ultimately responsible for the discovery: Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter. It was Lord
Carnarvon who held the concession to excavate and whose passion and ability to finance the
project allowed the eventual discovery to take place. The Earl and the Pharaoh tells the story
of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon. Carnarvon's life money and sudden death became front-page news
throughout the world following the discovery of the tomb fuelling rumours that persist today
of 'the curse of the pharaohs'. His beloved home Highclere Castle is today best-known as the
set of Downton Abbey . Drawing on Highclere Castle's never-before-plumbed archives bestselling
author Fiona the Countess of Carnarvon charts the twists of luck and tragedies that shaped
Carnarvon's life his restless and enquiring mind that drove him to travel to escape
conventional society life in Edwardian Britain.
