Over a career that spanned five decades, Waltari published well over 100 works, of which 200 translations have been made. Mika Waltari (1908-1979) is the most popular 20 th century Finnish writer who is best known for his magnum opus The Egyptian. The film was nominated for an Academy Award a year later. The Egyptian was turned into a film by Michael Curtiz and 20th Century Fox in 1954. It is the most internationally famous and translated Finnish novel in history. The novel’s depiction of the geopolitical situation of the Middle East is thought to be an allegory for World War II and its pessimistic message about the persistence of mankind’s flawed nature has long fascinated readers. Translated into over 40 languages, The Egyptian has been praised by Egyptology scholars for its historical accuracy. Through Sinuhe’s royal connections, Waltari describes the palace’s sexual liaisons, murders and shifting political alliances in great detail. Meanwhile Sinuhe is self-centred and arrogant, but ultimately well-meaning. Waltari paints him as a utopian dreamer and an out-of-touch visionary. Pharaoh Akhenaton, whose reign was marked by internal conflict, tried to bring monotheistic worship of Aton to Egypt. The novel describes life in 14th century Egypt, painting a timeless story of the brutal reality of human civilisation, whereby the strong oppress the weak and the poor suffer at the expense of the rich. The Egyptian is narrated by Sinuhe, a physician who becomes an advisor to both pharaohs and kings and whose travels take him from Egypt to Syria, Babylon to Mitanni, and Hattusa to Crete at the end of Minoan civilisation. Set in Ancient Egypt during the 18th dynasty and the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaton, The Egyptian became an instant international bestseller upon its publication in 1945. The spell-binding first major novel set in ancient Egypt.
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