The Craft of a Good Scribe: History, Narrative and Meaning in the First Tale of Setne Khaemwas (Harvard Egyptological Studies, 3)

Book info: The Craft of a Good Scribe: History, Narrative and Meaning in the First Tale of Setne Khaemwas (Harvard Egyptological Studies, 3) (Hardcover, 370 pages) – Brill, 2017. Language: English.

In The Craft of a Good Scribe, Steve Vinson offers a comprehensive study of the Demotic Egyptian First Tale of Setne Khaemwas (Third Century BCE), the first to appear since 1900. "First Setne" is the most important extant Demotic literary text, and among the most important fictional compositions from any period of ancient Egypt. The tale, which is by turns lurid, tragic and ultimately comic, deals with Setne's theft of a magic book written by the god Thoth himself, and subsequently Setne's punishment through a hallucinatory encounter with the ghostly femme fatale Tabubue. Vinson provides a new textual edition and commentary, and explores the tale's cultural background, its modern reception, and approaches to its interpretation as a work of literature. Editorial Reviews About the Author Steve Vinson (Ph.D.1995, Johns Hopkins University) is an Associate Professor of Egyptology at Indiana University – Bloomington. He is author of The Nile Boatman at Work (1998), and many articles on ancient Egyptian ships and shipping and on ancient Egyptian literature.