The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt

by G.A. Henty

A young Egyptian accidentally kills a sacred cat and must flee from an angry mob. Set in 1250 B.C., this thrilling adventure also features fascinating details about Egyptian religion, geography, farming, and burial.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics, School, Young Adult, Egypt, Historical

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1889

About the author

George Alfred Henty, better known as G.A. Henty, began his storytelling career with his own children. After dinner, he would spend and hour or two in telling them a story that would continue the next day. Some stories took weeks! A friend was present one day and watched the spell-bound reaction of his children suggesting Henty write down his stories so others could enjoy them. He did. Henty wrote approximately 144 books in addition to stories for magazines and was known as "The Prince of Story-Tellers" and "The Boy's Own Historian." One of Mr. Henty's secretaries reported that he would quickly pace back and forth in his study dictating stories as fast as the secretary could record them.

Henty's stories revolve around fictional boy heroes during fascinating periods of history. His heroes are diligent, intelligent, and dedicated to their country and cause in the face, at times, of great peril... Henty's heroes fight wars, sail the seas, discover land, conquer evil empires, prospect for gold, and a host of other exciting adventures. Along the way, they meet famous personages... In short, Henty's heroes live through tumultuous historic eras meeting leaders of that time. Understanding the culture of the time period becomes second nature as well as comparing/contrasting the society of various cultures.

Reviews

[Shimaa Mokhtar · Rating 4 out of 5]

رواية جميلة تدور في عهد الملك تحتمس الثالث والذي شيد أعظم امبراطورية مصرية شهدها التاريخ
العمل من الناحية الأدبية مميز ويكشف خصائص المجتمع المصري القديم ومعتقداته وبه العديد من المغامرات الشيقة، تسلسل الأحداث سريع إلى حد ما وممتع، النجمة الناقصة بسبب بعض المعلومات التاريخية الخاطئة، فجيش تحتمس الثالث لم يصل إلى بحر قزوين، ولم يقم الكهنة ببناء ممرات سرية داخل تماثيل الآلهه لخداع الناس وايهامهم أن الآلهه تتكلم ولم يتم اكتشاف تلك الممرات في عصرنا الحالي .. وهل وصل تقديس المصريين القدماء للقطط إلى قتل الكاهن الأكبر؟ .. لا أدري
رواية شيقة على أي حال تستحق القراءة

[Iset · Rating 1 out of 5]

I appreciate that Henty was writing in a time when rigorous, scientific archaeology was yet on the horizon, and the availability of information was scarce... but I just can't credit this book. The author's outlook (I'm assuming influenced heavily by the books of contemporary antiquarians) is completely a product of the times in which it was written in the 19th century, and as a result there's a deep misunderstanding of the historical cultures he writes about. For example, he misunderstands the religious role of animals, and claims that the Egyptians did not worship a sun god (they did, and there is a mountain of evidence for it!). Certain cultures are unashamedly described as primitive, but Henty seems confused about how they could've had the technology they did and yet still have 'primitive' customs and beliefs. One gets the impression of a confused narrative trying to justify this at times. Other facts are just plain wrong.

But it's not just the historical accuracy, which perhaps is more the fault of Henty's sources than Henty himself. The writing is bad too. Henty has a terrible habit of infodumping - just plopping down all the 'facts' he researched in a way that has no relevance to the plot and feels like a few pages of textbook were accidentally printed in the midst of a fictional story. He also has no sense of 'show, don't tell', and the characters feel stilted and interchangeable instead of fully realised people.

[Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

It kind of killed me slowly.

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifteen-year old Rebu prince Amuba finds himself and his father’s trusted aide Jethro taken as slaves when his father falls and his kingdom is defeated by the Egyptians. But getting to Egypt is only the start of the adventure. Amuba and Jethro find themselves given over to the priest Ameres who is not only highly educated and wise but also kind-hearted, taking them into his family as companion and carer for his children Chebron and Mysa, respectively rather than as servants. But when misfortune falls on Ameres’ family, as a result partly of a conspiracy and partly an accident in which Chebron’s arrow kills the family cat Pauces, chosen to be the next cat of Bubastes, it is Jethro and Amuba who have to take the lead and take themselves and their friends, Ameres’ children, to safety. Although the actual adventure takes a while getting started, I enjoyed the descriptions of ancient Egypt (one of my favourite settings) and life there (this is set in the days of the pharaohs and even Moses makes an appearance). The main characters (other than the villains, of course) are likeable and sensible—I particularly liked the sense and wisdom that Ameres showed and his views on religion as well (though I didn’t agree with him on everything). This was my first Henty, and turned out quite different from what I’d expected. A great first “meeting” with Henty! Four and a half stars.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

HALLELUJAH! I'M DONE WITH THIS BOOK FOREVER! WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS MY DELIGHT!

That is all.

[Hann Palstring (Farmer) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. That.. was a book (:P) I mean, it was well written, of course (being written in the 1800's). But at times, i found the explanations a bit excessive. I enjoyed the concept, and Ancient Egypt really is quite interesting, but I'm not sure if I would ever read it again.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

G.A. Henty is one of those old authors who you either love or find boring.I happen to love him. While I did find the formatting in this book to be horrible, I loved the story.
The priest was my favorite character.

[Joycelyn°❀⋆⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not purely about a cat

[Mikayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay it took me *cough* a year and a half to finish reading this. I was reading it aloud with my sister, and we somehow managed to forget it for a long period of time. On to the review...

Some may complain that this book is boring and I can understand that. This book is very slow paced, the author tended to draw things out with a lot of detail. But, I loved it anyway. Yeah, sometimes the ten page descriptions of things got to be a bit much, but I learned an awful lot. This author did an amazing job of really letting you see what it was like to live in Egypt, and everything about the times.

I loved Amuba, he was by far my favorite character. I also loved the scene with Moses; it was awesome.

My favorite part was the last chapter. The author did such a good job of showing you how everything in these characters life's that seemed bad, God was really using for good. It really made the message come though very strongly.

Overall, I loved this book. I would recommend it to anyone who loves history and doesn't mind lengthily descriptions.

[aindy! · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really understand it.

[Megan Franks · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Egypyians conquer the land of Rebu, the prince and the king's trusted advisor are taken as slaves. Fortunately, Amuba and Jethro are purchased by a kind and respectable man named Ameres, the high priest of Osiris. In Ameres' home, slaves are regarded as family and are not forced to adopt the religion and customs of Egypt. Amuba and Jethro regard Egyptians with respect and awe, for they are a very learned people. In fact, they hope to one day be able to return to their homeland and improve life for their people with the tips and tricks they have learned from Egyptians (irrigation, building techniques, etc.) When Chebron, Amere's son, accidentally kills a cat, there is instant uproar throughout Egypt, for the killing of the sacred cat (accidental or otherwise) is an offense punishable by death. the slaves join Chebron in his plan to escape, but not before they learn a secret that Ameres and others of the highest order of priests have been keeping from the people--a secret that will forever change their lives and the lives of countless others.

Will they manage to escape from the vast empire that is Egypt? Will Amuba and Jethro ever see their homeland again? What will they do with the secret?

I admit that the first couple of chapters (which are mostly battle scenes) made me groan with despair. However, once the men reach Egypt, the storyline quickens and becomes more interesting. I was amazed at how many tidbits of historical information the author was able to squeeze into the story without bogging down the plot. This is a fantastic book to read for an integrated literature/history study on ancient Egypt.

[Lekeshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

We listened to the audiobook version while in the car. My littles were entertained. It was good until religion was involved. I wasn't a fan of how condescending it was towards the Egyptian's religion. It was hilarious that Egyptian religion was discredited due to simply making up gods because they were "simple minded" and not understanding that their was only one god. Yet the one true god appear in much the same way the Egyptian gods did. OK, if you're superior then so be it. Thankfully my littles didn't understand. Wish the presentation of religion was done in a respectful manner. Each their own.

[Dianna]

DNF. I hate to give up on a good old-fashioned historical novel about Egypt, but this book is amazingly wordy without the accompanying charm that makes such books bearable, and I'm not going to spend any more time on it right now. I may return to it another time when I'm feeling more patient.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I enjoyed meeting Moses in this book, and ya just have to love Egypt.

[Ramy · Rating 3 out of 5]

قرات مؤخرا عدة روايات انجليزية مترجمة للعربية
هى فى الاصل روايات للناشئة و ليست روايات للكبار
و مع ذلك فهى ممتعة جدا

الرجل العجيب و شركاه
كاتبها امريكي..و الرواية تدور حول رحلة عائلة ساحر متجول خلال امريكا وصولا لكالفورنيا على شط المحيط

عائلة من سويسرا
كاتبها سويسرى ... عن قس سويسرى و زوجته و اطفاله و جنوح سفينتهم على جزيرة و كيف عاشوا فيها لسنوات باستخدام مهارتهم و حسن تخططيهم

و اخيرا قصتنا ها هنا ..كتبها انجليزى ج. هنتي
كان يقص القصص على اطفاله مساءا امام وهج نار المدفاءة و حضر فى مرة صديق له فتأثر بالقصص فقرر كتابتها و نشرها ل هنتي
حتى يستمتع كل الاطفال بقصصه
....
القصة ف�� ظاهرها بسيطة..حبكتها بسيطة
عن مغامرة عبر عدة بلدان .. كما تشير الخريطة



حرق للاحداث

عن عن اموبا ابن ملك الريباس
يصل تحتمس - غالبا تحتمس التالت - بعد مسيرة 3 شهور
من مصر حتى الريباس على ساحل بحر قزوين
- بحر قزوين حاليا الدول التى على ساحله هم روسيا وإيران وأذربيجان وتركمانستان وكازاخستان -
و التى اعتقد انها اسم بلد من خيال الكاتب "الريباس"
لان اخر نفوذ تحتمس الثالث كان عند حدود نهر الفرات "ميتاني"
و ليس بعد ذلك حتى بحر قزوين
...المهم يقتل ملك الريباس يأسر ابنه اموبا و حارسه الخاص جيثرو
ينقلوا لمصر يصبحوا عبيد لدى كبيرالكهنة اميرس
والذى كان رجل حكيم عاقل شهم و متفتح الذهن
يعرف ان اختلاف صور الالهة و اختلاف تماثيلهم ما هم الا صور متعددة لقوة و عظمة اله واحد قهار
الكهنة يدركون هذه الحقيقة و لكن لا ينطقون بها
بينما العامة اعتادوا عبادة هذه التماثيل الصور دونا عن الاله الاوحد التى تمثله مجتمعة
...يصبح اموبا و جيثرو خادمين ل ابن و ابنة الكاهن شيبرون و مايسة
حتى يحدث ان سهم طائش من شيبرون ابن الكاهن يقتل القطة بوسي بالخطا
و هو من اكبر و افظع الاخطاء لدى المصريين وقتها
يأجج منافس الكاهن اميرس على لقب كبير الكهنة نار العداوة و الحقد فى قلوب المصريين عليه
يقتلوه
و يهرب
اموبا و جيثرو خادمين ل ابن و ابنة الكاهن شيبرون و مايسة
بالاضافة ل روث خادمة مايسة
و بعد مغامرة من طيبة فى وسط مصر نزولا للجنوب حتى سوون - اسوان حاليا - ثم ما بعد ذلك الى حدود السودان وصولا للبحر الاحمر و مركب صاعد مرة اخرى وصولا ل صحراء البترا - الاردن حاليا - ثم قادش سوريا
ثم الفرات و اخيرا الى الريباس مرة اخرى
ليستعيد بعد كفاح اموبا عرش ابيه و يصبح جيثرو مساعده و قائد جيشه
و يتزوج اموبا من مخدومته السابقة مايسة
و يتزوج شيبرون من خادمته السابقة روث
و تنتهى الرواية نهاية سعيدة


مغزى الرواية ..
1 ان حياتنا قد تضمن قيعان يليها قمم و هبوط يليه صعود فلا تبتئس و لاا تيأس
كما ان سيدنا يوسف عليه السلام ألقى فى بئر و بيع ك عبد و تغرب و سجن ثم خرج ليصير وزير و مالك خزائن المال
كذلك فى القصة هزم اموبا و نقل ك عبد و فر هاربا مع سيده ليعود لبلده و يصير ملكا مرة اخرى

2 عسى ان تكرهوا شيئا و هو خير لكم ... فحادث عارض تظنه مدمر لحياتك و لكنه ربما يغيرها للاحسن
3 لكل بلد و لكل زمن محظوراته الدينية و الاجتماعية
..فى مصر القديمة أياك و قتل قطة فقد تقتل جراء ذلك
فى الهند أياك و اعتراض طريق بقرة او ذبحها او حتى ضربها
و قس على ذلك فى كل مكان و كل زمان

لمعرفة عادات الحياة اليومية و الاجتماعية للمصرين القدماء ..اقترح عليك قراءة الكتاب
الحياة أيام الفراعنة
اما للقراءة عن حياتهم و عاداتهم و الاستفادة و التعلم و الابتسام و الضحك فى الوقت نفسه فأرشح لك
فانتازيا فرعونية
اما للقراءة عن الطب و العلاج عند قدماء المصريين و كيف كانوا يعالجو الامراض و الكسور بل و يقوموا بالعمليات ..فيمكنك ان تطلع على كتاب
طب وسحر

الكتاب القادم : المدخل لفهم سيكولوجية الإنسان المهزأ

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to just say it was okay, because this was the kind of book that was extremely well researched and will leave me and my daughter with a greater knowledge of life in ancient Egypt, but even so, to say I "liked it" would be a stretch.

There were SO MANY WORDS and such long sentences that sometimes repeated information. The focus was sometimes much more on history than plot. It was a lot, but well done anyway Mr. G.A. Henty. We still appreciate your work.

[allison riera :)]

// for my ancient history class. :/

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5!

[Malia Roth · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was a painful read-aloud. But it was relevant to Elijah’s current history study, and he enjoyed it, so. I’ll take it.

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
I was kinda disappointed with this book. I expected to enjoy it more than I did.
The book wasn't bad; the story was interesting. I was just not drawn in the way I wanted to be.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Henty historical novels keep coming up in my life. Most recently they were strongly recommended by a homeschooling mom whose taste in literature I truly trust. Happily this year the Easter Bunny brought us a few Henty novels. So far this book does not disappoint, and has inspired some independent historical research from my oldest son.

This evening we reached the half-way point in the Cat of Bubastes. The critical dramatic plot twist has occurred and now the protagonists must face their destiny. As a historical fiction novel for children this work undoubtedly deserves five stars. As a novel that advances Christian ideals and morality, and does so in the polytheistic, amoral context of ancient Egypt, the novel is laudable. It is unfortunately limited by the author's cumbersome voice; which is easily forgiven by the fact that it was published in the 1880s. My biggest complaint is that I find myself pausing every couple of paragraphs to paraphrase for the boys. Even this limitation may be a strength in that it generates some very challenging discussions, and forces me to check in with them to ensure that they are comprehending this challenging read-aloud.

A word on reading level; the work is challenging for my boys (8 and 6), we are far enough in that we will continue to the end, but it is likely more appropriate for pre-teens and up. (Sidebar: After reading the previous paragraph to Caden he heartily disagrees. Caden feels that the book was wholly appropriate for him. Wishing to further discredit me, Kobe adds that, "Six year olds would be interested in this book.")

We have now finished this work, in the end it definitely felt like work. The final three chapters were heavy with geographic details of the flight of the main characters from Egypt. This does not diminish the value of this historical novel. Henty very successfully transports the reader into the time of Ancient Egypt. In so doing, Henty exposes us to a variety of aspects of life in Ancient Egypt including; preservation of bodies, Egyptian justice, Egytian customs, travel, religion, etc.

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first of G.A. Henty's works and the thing that struck me most about his writing was his knowledge of the details of ancient Egyptian life. It is clear that the author loved history and did a lot of research before writing this story. He used terms appropriate to the time period ("water horse" for a hippo) and did well with incorporating true history by bringing in Moses as an Egyptian prince. Henty's details are elaborate and vivid, almost to a fault. The plot of the story was intriguing and I appreciated the adventure Henty added to it.

I used this book in our homeschool as a companion to the study of ancient world history. My 12 year old son who also read the book enjoyed it well enough that he went on to read other G.A. Henty books on his own.

As the book was written in 1889, it is understandable that the style of writing is much deeper than what many are accustomed to reading in our modern, fast-paced society. However, it is so rich in historical details that I think it would be a shame to skip over it. I listened to this one as an audiobook and found it very interesting!

[Colleen Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an historical fiction adventure story, written for young readers in 1888, by British author George Alfred Henty. This is a unique glimpse into Egyptian culture during the time of Moses and the Captivity of Israel. Henty only lightly touches on Biblical history, concentrating more on Egyptian history, yet there is one scriptural theme used as the linch pin for the entire book: the One True God vs. the many gods, or Monotheism vs. idolatry. Though Henty's narrative style takes a little getting use to (not terse and high speed, like current adventure writers), the book is worth reading. It is a powerful portrayal of the strengths of the religion of the One True God compared to the foolishness of idolatry.

[Stevie Ciske · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a homeschool mom I read this before I assign it as part of the 10th grade reading. It is full of history and geography. It introduces the egyptian gods and how religion was veiwed in ancient Egypt. I liked how they mention the Israelites' belief in the one true God, but didn't love the explanation of how they felt they could allow the worship of the other gods, it seemed more compromised than the Bible portrays it. HOWEVER, it was probably more true to history the way it was written.
not my favorite book. But it was a good read and I think my 10th grader will enjoy it. (great geography!!!) I look forward to mapping that out!

[Arty Mathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bir zamanların prensi, Mısırlılar tarafından savaşta yenilip esir alınan Amuba’nın yaşadıklarını anlatıyor kitap, tarihi bir dekor içinde. Acıklı değil, felaket tellallığı da yapmıyor, yani gayet iyi.

Yayınlarını çok enteresan bulduğum @mayakitap basımı bir eser, @goodreads de kitabın Türkçesini bulamadım. Akıyor ve kendini okutuyor. Ben tarihi romanları, dönem romanlarını da çok severim, dolayısıyla güzel buldum, bir haftadır da elimde.

Hayatınızı değiştirmez ama güzelce keyifle okunur bu roman…

Aslında 3,5 yıldız bu arada

[Suzanne Roq · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun story- I loved the time period- prior to Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt.
Content Considerations: war, death, physical descriptions that we wouldn’t use today (negro for the color of a nubian’s skin etc).

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great for history lovers, not for littles though, too much description of ancient customs, etc for my 6 yr girl. 9 yr boy loved it.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Weiss is, as always, a master storyteller. This unabridged reading is a genuine pleasure to listen to.

[Angela R. Watts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I TOTALLY saw that ending! =D *clapping* I love happy endings. Love.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cat Of Bubastes is quite an interesting read! It is an adventurous tale with doses of wisdom and learning. Great book over all!