‘Historic’ book launch at Bolton Museum
To celebrate Pride Month 2025, the Egypt Exploration Society launched its latest Spotlight book at Bolton Museum on Saturday 14th June 2025. This volume, Amelia B Edwards: The ‘Queen of Egyptology’, traces the life and legacy of the Society’s founder who has previously been described as the ‘godmother’ of British Egyptology. But, on her death, in 1892, she was crowned ‘queen’ of the fledgling field of Egyptology having founded both the EES in 1882, and the first professorship for Egyptology at UCL in her Will.
In this Spotlight, the author, Dr Carl Graves (Director of the EES, signing copies on the left - image by Carmen Lowry), also reveals the queer origins of British Egyptology. It is already known that Amelia had several relationships with other women, notably ‘marrying’ an Ellen Byrne in Bristol. But, this volume shines a light on new evidence indicating that when this marriage broke down, around 1871, Amelia journeyed to Rome where she initiated a new relationship with American writer Anne Hampton Brewster. Furthermore, when her feelings were not reciprocated, Amelia began a relationship with someone she affectionately calls ‘Miranda’ in her letters to Anne. Miranda’s real name, it was later revealed, was Lucy Renshaw. Lucy is a name familiar to many Egyptologists as Amelia’s travelling companion to the Dolomites in 1872 and then Egypt in 1873. The letters between Amelia and Anne, together with Anne’s diary, also reveal that Amelia and Lucy were ‘married’ before they began their travels.
This book outlines the development of Amelia and Lucy’s relationship around the more familiar narrative of Amelia’s life. It also follows the progress of an oil painting of Amelia, through the hands of further independent women connected with the Society.
The book has already received praise from Dr Kathleen Sheppard, author of Women in the Valley of the Kings (2024) who said, “this book is unlike any other you’ll read about Amelia Edwards”, and Prof Alice Roberts (anatomist & anthropologist, author & broadcaster) who called it “fabulous!”
Bolton Museum was chosen for the launch owing to its long-standing partnership with the Egypt Exploration Society. The oil painting of Amelia Edwards by Florence Blakiston Attwood-Mathews, now in the collections of the EES, was loaned to Bolton Museum in 2024 for display until 2028 and it was felt appropriate to launch the volume in its presence.
Speeches were given by Ian Trumble (Curator of Egyptology, Bolton Museum), Prof Joann Fletcher (University of York, and Lead EES Local Ambassador) who authored a foreword for the new volume, and Dr Carl Graves (Director of the EES and author of the book).
Prof Joann Fletcher talked about the role that Amelia B Edwards played in her personal journey in Egyptology. Image by Julia Thorne, EES.
Ian noted the role of the EES and Amelia Edwards in creating the Egyptian collections in Bolton Museum which are the largest cared for by a local authority in the UK. He introduced Annie Barlow, a woman who was recruited by Amelia and supported the EES by promoting its work and attracting supporters in the northwest. It is thanks to these women that the collections can be admired today. Joann reflected on her own journey into Egyptology and the inspiration that Amelia offered her as a young student. The 1982 ‘For the Love of Egypt’ BBC docudrama that chronicled the founding of the EES on its centenary prompted Joann to trace down a copy of Amelia’s A Thousand Miles Up the Nile which further encouraged her own journey into Egyptology. Carl thanked Ian and Bolton Museum for hosting the launch, and Joann for inspiring his own journey into the field before offering some thoughts about why Amelia’s story was important today. Describing her as a messy and complicated character who could be admired at the same time as acknowledging her flaws, Carl noted that her story can still provide a message of hope today. The lesser-known details of Amelia’s personal life demonstrate that Egyptology can be an inclusive space for people of all backgrounds and that perceptions of it should be reclaimed for those purposes. The problematic descriptions used by Amelia to talk about Egyptians that she encountered also serve to show how we are changing as a discipline and that these topics should continue to be readdressed.
The volume is not a biography, though it is biographical, but rather adds some colour to the biographies already available. Intended to raise further questions, it is hoped that this volume will inspire further research.
The event was attended by EES members and supporters of Bolton Museum. Dr Carl Graves shirt expresses the notion of 'homosexual' or 'lesbian tendencies' - a phrase used by John Addington Symonds to describe Amelia after her death. This reference, published by Bianca Walther in 2021, inspired his research into Amelia's queer past, the results of which are reflected in this book. Image by Julia Thorne, EES.
The Society would like to thank Bolton Museum, and particularly Ian Trumble, for hosting the launch event and the continuing partnership supporting and promoting Egyptian cultural heritage. The Society is grateful to Prof Joann Fletcher for both writing the foreword in the latest volume, but also for her leadership and guidance of the Local Ambassador Programme which encourages members to assist the Society by promoting its work and attracting further support – much like Amelia’s own Local Honorary Secretary network. We are also grateful to all those archives and collections that shared their knowledge and expertise, and digital copies of their materials so freely. The volume is only possible thanks to those illustrative materials which help to tell this story. Finally, we’d like to thank all those supporters who donated to make this volume a reality. Your contributions made it possible to produce this book. Thank you.