She who sleeps A romance of New York and the Nile

About the book

Barry Cumberland sees a woman whose appearance recalls ancient Egypt shortly before a road accident leaves him injured and unable to explain the encounter. His attempts to trace her meet evasions and further uncertainty. Meanwhile, his father's enthusiasm for Egyptian antiquities makes the household receptive to Danbazzar, a dealer offering a papyrus that describes a princess preserved in suspended life. The possibility of finding her tomb turns a collector's interest into an expedition. Rohmer combines romantic obsession, archaeological adventure, and apparent supernatural mystery, moving between American wealth and the Nile. The ancient claims belong to the novel's speculative intrigue, not reliable Egyptology. Barry's attraction and his father's desire for a remarkable discovery both make judgment difficult when evidence arrives through people with interests of their own.

• Obsession and credulity
• Antiquity and mystery
• Appearance and deception

Why read it

The parallel attractions of an elusive woman and an impossible archaeological discovery give the mystery two compelling sources of uncertainty.

English text of the 1928 Doubleday, Doran first edition