Emma Carroll's Secrets of a Sun King is a marvellous meld of past meets ancient past as details of Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s life with the throne thrust upon his youthful and unwilling shoulders is laid bare in this action-packed book; all the while a trio of children race to Egypt to stop a deadly ancient curse…
What's it about?
Emma Carroll’s book Secrets of a Sun King is set in November 1922 in London in the first person as Lil, a smart working class girl with a scholarship to a posh school that she heartily dislikes. The things she looks forward to most in a week? Tea with her Grandad where she sits amongst his antiquities listening to his tales of his worldly wanderings, and in particular, his time in Egypt.
Upon going to feed his cat while he is in hospital, Lil finds a mysterious package on her Grandad’s doorstep that has been sent by a famous Egyptologist found dead in strange circumstances that very morning. Inside is an ancient-looking jar that doesn’t open but gives her the chills.
When visiting the hospital, Lil is upset to see her grandad so ill but terrified when he mentions the jar carries a deadly curse, and unless it is returned to its rightful place in the Valley of the Kings - modern day Luxor - then he will die. She finds more information back at Grandad’s house: a letter from the dead professor and a translation from something inside a jar. When she reads the words ‘Tutankhamen’, she can’t quite believe what she is reading. Lil resolves to find a way to return the jar to Egypt - no mean feat 100 years ago - to save her grandad’s life.
With her friends’ help, Lil finds herself on the resplendent Continental Express en route from London to Luxor with the original manuscript that has only been half translated. Managing to translate the rest with Oz’s remarkable abilities learned from his lost brother, the children are able to read the account of Tutankhamen’s last days from one of his friends. It reads of a boy who didn’t want to be pharaoh, and beset by illness, wants to enjoy the time he has with his friends.
Arriving in Luxor, the children elicit the help of a local boy and his camels to find the real tomb of Tutankhamen, while accidentally uncovering Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon breaking into the tomb before it’s been opened. The jar is returned to its rightful place and Tutankhamen is at peace, Mr. Carter is embarrassed into admitting his own secrets, and the final twist uncovered by the arrival of a strangely familiar person on the scene.
A heart-warming story of being brave, learning of all facets and a story of friendship and family.
Why use it?
I’ve used this for a few years now and it does the historical ‘topic’ of ancient Egypt a lot of justice. Writing this in 2023, it is just over 100 years since the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb which adds significance to the story and the curriculum. It’s suitable for Year 4 to 6, and at a pinch an able Year 3 class. Conceptually, the content is geared towards that age group, and the younger the class the more explanations are required.
There’s a lot more to this book, however, with numerous elements that will resonate across the spectrum of a class. The protagonist is a girl, a poor girl at that, whereas her new friends are fabulously wealthy though with a single - though glamorously strong and independent - mother. The suffragette movement is brought up that can invite a good discussion on equality and its progression since then. I particularly liked that Oz, Lil’s friend, certainly has ASD (without being named) but is a wonderful example of inclusion.
1922 is not long after the end of the First World War, and the impact is keenly felt in the book with more of a focus on mental scarring through Lil’s dad who ‘rarely smiles’ and has a tremble, to Alex Mendoza who is more forthright in the demons and horror he has faced. There are great descriptions of London and general life in the 1920s, which is easy to overlook, but I have found that the children are just as interested in what life was like 100 years ago as they are of Ancient Egypt.
Thinking of English, reading comprehension per chapter is a must; I use these that I wrote in a SATS style with two different ability levels. Writing-wise, the opportunities are endless, from diary entries with focuses on things like women’s rights and all other non-Egypt subplots, to reviews of the Continental Express where it is worth looking up some of world’s most renowned railway journeys, to a journal for Mr. Carter, adverts for the tomb opening ceremony, the newspaper reports written around the time, character and setting descriptions; the list really does go on.
The Final Score
I am fortunate to have lived and taught in Egypt for a few years - my Year 3 trip was to the pyramids! - so had good subject knowledge from my own first hand wanderings. Thus, I would recommend investing in historical knowledge of the Valley of the Kings etc. as I was fired question after question as the book went on, showing, as all good books show, the resulting craving of knowledge and curiously that’s fostered makes this is an excellent, educational and enjoyable resource.
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