A Night with Amelia Edwards in Bolton

Join the Egypt Exploration Society in Bolton as our Director explores the life of our founder, Amelia B Edwards.

17:00–18:00 Lecture: Amelia B Edwards: The ‘Queen of Egyptology’

A chance visit to Egypt in 1873 by Amelia B Edwards changed the future of British Egyptology forever. Her travelogue, A Thousand Miles Up the Nile, would inspire generations after her to take up her message to support and promote Egyptian cultural heritage. Attendees will hear about Amelia’s life and relive Amelia’s 1873 journey up the Nile with Dr Carl Graves, Director of the Egypt Exploration Society which was founded by Amelia Edwards in 1882. The presentation is illustrated with archival material held by the Egypt Exploration Society as well as original artwork by Amelia kept at the Griffith Institute and Somerville College, both University of Oxford, and the Peggy Joy Egyptology Library. The presentation will also explore Amelia’s journey into Egyptology including her personal relationships with several women as well as her work as a musician and novelist, much of which has only recently come to light and is published by the speaker in the 2025 book, Amelia B. Edwards: The ‘Queen of Egyptology’, available in the Bolton Museum gift shop.

Speaker

Dr Carl Graves

Director, The Egypt Exploration Society

Find out more

07 May 2025

Amelia B Edwards: The 'Queen of Egyptology'

In this book, Carl Graves explores the private life of Amelia B Edwards and unpacks her journey to founding the Egypt Exploration Society.

Publications

18:30–19:30 Film screening: For the Love of Egypt

Starring Margaret Tyzak as Amelia B Edwards, ‘For the Love of Egypt’ is a BBC Chronicle docu-drama retelling the founding of the Egypt Exploration Society created for its centenary in 1982. The film has had a lasting impact on how we view the history of the EES as well as the wider development of British Egyptology. It includes the relationship between the Society and the British Museum (particularly Samuel Birch and Reginald Stuart Poole), as well as the early careers of William Matthew Flinders Petrie and Francis Llewellyn Griffith. It also has some subtle hints about the private life of Amelia Edwards, her relationship with Elen Drew Braysher, Marianne Brocklehurst, and Kate Bradbury and her own collecting of Egyptian antiquities.

Host

Professor Joann Fletcher

Visiting Professor in the Department of Archaeology, University of York

Find out more

19:30 until late: Reception in the Museum

A reception in the museum will follow the screening, offering time to network and ask questions.

Booking and Information

This event is free to attend, but we ask attendees to consider making a generous donation to the Society’s Building the Future campaign, which will transform the future of British Egyptology and allow us to share its story further than ever before.