This publication contains hieroglyphic transcriptions of 26 hieratic documents of various lengths. Its value is now generally recognised and hardly any study of the Ramesside administrative system can be undertaken without referring to it. The volume is provided with comprehensive indexes.
Sir Alan H. Gardiner was one of the premier Egyptologists of the early twentieth century. He is probably best remembered for two of his books, Egypt of the Pharaohs, and Egyptian Grammar which is considered to be among the best works in the field of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
His interest in Egypt started at an early age. He began his education at Charterhouse and was sent to Paris for a year to study under Gaston Maspero, whom he had come to admire after reading a book he had written. Unfortunately, Maspero’s lectures did not live up to Gardiner’s expectations. From Paris, he traveled to England and attended The Queen’s College at Oxford. There he earned a second in Classical Moderations in 1899, and a first in Hebrew and Arabic in 1901. Gardiner was married that year to Hedwig von Rosen, with whom he had two sons and a daughter.