La follia dell'imperatore

by Anthony O'Neill

In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Egypt. But hidden in Egypt was a secret that conquered him.The Chamber of Eternity is said to contain a hieroglyphic code to the future, the meaning of life and the secrets of immortaility. For thousands of years its site has been fiercely guarded, its existence defended by preposterous rumours and outright lies. Learning of the mysterious vault, Napoleon Bonaparte launches an expedition to Egypt to locate the Chamber. When its extraordinary secrets are revealed to him in the heart of the Great Pyramid, he returns to Paris and swiftly becomes Emperor of France.Forty years later Queen Victoria becomes infatuated with the legend and recruits Alexander Rhind, a modest young Scot, to infiltrate a secretive cabal of archaeologists known as the 'Brotherhood of Eternity'. But when Rhind himself is seduced by the mystery, he is compelled to undertake his own expedition to Egypt to uncover the truth.With its cast of emperors, popes, queens, generals, sheikhs, artists and archaeologists - every one of them real - The Empire of Eternity is a spellbinding novel about the wonders of Egypt, the secrets of the gods, and man's desire to achieve immortality at all costs. By turns awesome and intimate, its revelations endure far beyond the final page.

350 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Anthony O’Neill is the son of an Irish policeman and an Australian stenographer.

He was born in Melbourne and lives in Edinburgh.

He is the author of Scheherazade, a revisionist Arabian Nights epic; The Lamplighter, a psychological horror novel set in Victorian Scotland; The Empire of Eternity, a history-mystery involving Napoleon Bonaparte and the early years of Egyptology; The Unscratchables, a Swiftian satire featuring dog and cat detectives; and The Dark Side, a crime novel set on the far side of the moon.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but could have achieved the same thing in a few thousand less words.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this on holiday in Hue, Vietnam...

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting how different books you read connect. Recently I've read books about Josephine Bonaparte and also a book set in France at a similar time to this one, although a completely different perspective. As they're all from different authors they obviously weren't designed to be read together, but I did feel it was interesting to get a wider viewpoint.

I felt that this book was interesting. particularly the way the mystery unfolded.

[Captain Goodvibes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd give this book 6 stars if I could. Superlative dialogue, subtle humour, wonderful characters and actually really gripping too. The secrets of the 'chamber of eternity' were indeed worth the wait! Easily the best book I've read this year. It's one of those books where you find yourself re-reading a sentence or paragraph three or four times just because it's so pleasingly constructed. Take your time over it - enjoy it. It's well well worth it!

[Joan Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This and "The Unscratchables" are my favourites of the four extraordinary books by Anthony O'Neill. The man is a legend and I can't understand why he isn't better known. His range is enormous, his imagination boundless
and he keeps you glued to the page and still thinking about the book - forever, really.

[Maryana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intricate, detailed and well-researched historical novel that captures the spectrum of human motivations from ambition to desperation. Characters are explored with a rare depth, so that each is given coverage as a human being rather than a variable in the events of history.

[Cafrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's enormously moving, the Chamber of Eternity. I have a true love of humble, thoughtful protagonists who want to live a quiet life. Alex Rhind is that. Napoleon is not. It's a beautiful dichotomy, what they each find in the Chamber of Eternity.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Joelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little gem, far, far from all the formula based books we tend to read. Well researched, well written, highly readable. I'll look for his other books.