Review: The Curse of the Kings by Victoria Holt

 In the Victorian era, a young woman who's different from the rest grows up entranced by Ancient Egypt and ends up marrying her childhood crush, a gentleman Egyptologist, amongst rumors of an ancient curse killing those who dare disturb one of the most tempting tombs in the Egyptian sands.

Right off the first page, we learn that a man named Sir Edward Travers dies unexpectedly while on an expedition in Egypt, and the papers blame the curse of the pharaohs. The heroine of our story, the orphaned Judith Osmond, grows up playing with the children of the village nobles, Sirs Edward and Ralph, and becoming more and more enthralled by Ancient Egypt. For the first hundred pages, we learn everything about Judith who, like many historical romance heroines, is decidedly bolder, ambitious, and slightly tomboyish. Judith's love for Tybalt, the only son of Sir Edward, saturates the entire novel. When she turns eighteen and moves into Sir Ralph's household to be his wife's lady's maid, she and Sir Ralph form a mutual understanding of her interest in Egyptology. Upon his deathbed, his dying wish is that Judith and Tybalt marry. What sounded like a marriage of convenience turns out to be a marriage of mutual fondness as Judith learns that Tybalt has feelings for her as well. They wed happily, using their honeymoon to go to Egypt on Tybalt's very own expedition to finish what his father started. However, the rumors of the curse consume Judith with fear for her new husband, and what she thought would be her first opportunity at being a real Egyptologist turns out to be yet another men's-only affair. While this is an interesting plot from the classic era of romance novels, it ended up cold and shallow. Tybalt was virtually emotionless, which is disappointing coming from a romantic interest, and Judith's boldness was squashed by the author's inability to truly make her independent. The writing style was choppy and matter-of-fact, as was the dialogue, which is a shortcoming I have noticed in some first-person historical novels from the late 20th century. The storyline is enjoyable, but the story does not pick up until the final third of the novel. That being said, the final third was good. If the rest of the book had had more drama, it would have been a more interesting story to read.

While certainly an early classic of the genre with an enjoyable ending, this novel fails to impress.

Originally published: January 1, 1973

Pages: 304

ISBN: 9780449209516

Publisher: Fawcett Crest