The Missing American by Julie Highmore

 

"This had been a mad idea. I wasn't Kinsey Millhone, or Precious Ramotswe. Reading a zillion crime novels wasn't going to make me a hot-shot detective, just as Jane Austen hadn't helped my love life..."

The Missing American by Julie Highmore (published 10 April 2023) is an entertaining cosy crime mystery, set in Oxford.

This is the first book in the Edie Fox Detective Agency series.

Blurb:

New to the private investigator game, Edie Fox is delighted when a handsome American client with disconcertingly dazzling teeth asks her to find his missing cousin, Isabella. Especially when he leaves her a bundle of cash to get started.

However, the case quickly gets complicated, and so does her life when a one-night stand from her Oxford university days gets in touch and asks if her 26-year-old daughter, Maeve, is also his child.

Juggling a chaotic home, a brimming wine glass, a daughter besotted with her new-found daddy, and a rekindled old flame, Edie must try to focus on the job.

But with unreliable witnessses, a less that trustworthy client, and an assistant with her mind on other things, Edie will be up against it and risks losing all.

Edie Fox is a private investigator. Her business is brand new, and she is a total babe in the woods, when it  comes to doing her job. When an American client called Mike Smith visits her office, asking her to find his missing cousin Isabella, Edie is thrilled. According to him, Isabella decided to come to the UK to carry out a photography project, with the theme of comparison between the US and the UK - society, nature, industry. And then she disappeared. 

Mike leaves a big wad of cash as a "small retainer", and promises more money to follow.

Edie is not a natural, when it comes to investigating. She thinks she has the necessary qualifications but in reality she just bumbles through awkwardly.

Her personal life is pure chaos. Edie lives with her daughter Maeve and her preschooler grandson Alfie. Maeve is super lazy, and expects her mother to do a big share of looking after cheeky Alfie. Both ladies are not particularly demanding when it comes to men. Maeve's current boyfriend Hector is obnoxious. It's not quite clear what his redeeming qualities are supposed to be.

When not investigating or looking after her grandson, Edie enjoys getting stoned with her friend Astrid.

On top of the search for the missing American, Edie has to deal with the blast from the past. Terence, her one-night-stand from the uni days, decides to get in touch. Terence has always suspected that Edie's daughter could be his, but wasn't "ready" to meet her until now.

And just like that, Edie and Maeve welcome the long-lost daddy into the bosom of the family. No regrets, no judgement, all is forgiven.

As the investigation progresses, Edie realises that her client is rather fishy. The witnesses are untrustworthy as well. She has to rely on help from the most unexpected quarters.

Before long Edie finds herself in a pickle. In the midst of suspicions and mistrust, she will find out that everything she holds dear is under threat.

Edie is an exasperating heroine. Without having any credentials and qualifications, she decides to become a private investigator and set up a detective agency.

And then she is constantly on the bottle. Not sure what is it with the middle-aged characters in fiction, but it seems to be a trend among the main protagonists these days to be overindulging on a regular basis, as if compensating for the lack of something significant in their lives. Rather than sound amusing, the self-deprecating admonitions on the alcohol abuse are actually quite sad. 

I enjoyed all the descriptions of Oxford and references to the local places (Blenheim Palace, Witney etc), as I know Oxford quite well.

The humour is not of the side-splitting variety, it's more nuanced. You might not LOL, but you will smile and shake your head at the antics of Edie and co. There is a whole lot of supporting diverse characters who add a touch of Oxford eccentricity to the main narrative.

The Missing American is a delightful, quirky and enjoyable mystery. If you are looking for an engaging amusing mystery, with lots of twists and turns, look no further. 

Edie Fox will be back, and I can't wait for the next book in the series. 

Many thanks to Julie Highmore and The Book Folks for my copy of the book!

 Author’s bio: 

The daughter of an RAF officer, Julie moved around a lot as a child, which meant many moves and many goodbyes, and fourteen schools to turn up to as a shy new girl. But eventually settled in Oxford in her twenties and, after having three children, studied first at Westminster College, then Oxford Brookes University, where she gained a first class degree in English. As part of the course, she studied creative writing with Philip Pullman, who encouraged her to continue with her writing after graduation. This she did, and her published work includes nine rom-com novels, and more recently, a crime fiction series for The Book Folks. 

The first in the series – features the somewhat flawed, Oxford-based private investigator, Edie Fox; a single mother and very young grandmother who inadvertently gets her precious family caught up in her first big case. 

Although her recent novels have ventured into some dark places, Julie manages to inject humour into the stories without diminishing the seriousness of the situations Edie finds herself in. 

Oxford is a city Julie knows well, but she has chosen to leave the beautiful and atmospheric colleges and cloisters to other authors, and her protagonist is based in the more edgy and diverse east of the city, full of small Victorian houses, students, cafes, delis and retired lecturers. When not writing, Julie enjoys music, binge-watching a good TV series, country strolls, doing the New York Times crossword and hanging out with her husband and ever-expanding family. 

Author’s bio on website: https://thebookfolks.com/author/julie-highmore/ 

Purchasing links: 

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C23XYCKG/ 

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C23XYCKG/ 

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C23XYCKG/ 

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C23XYCKG

 Social Media links 

Website: https://thebookfolks.com

Insta:@the_book_folks 

Twitter: @thebookfolks 

Facebook: http://facebook.com/thebookfolks 

Blog: https://thebookfolks.com/blog/ 

Julie’s Twitter: @JulieHighmore 

The Thief on the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas #BlogTour

"When you're thirteen, Daddy will teach you how to lay an enchantment. Just the one, and it will be yours, forever. That's traditional on the eyot. If someone turns out to be good at dollcraft - if they're better than everyone else - we apprentice them as a Sorcerer, and they can learn all the other enchantments. Do you see? Only the very best people at craft get to do it as a job. Only they get to learn all the enchantments".

Since early childhood Persephone's desire is to become a Sorcerer. Now she is an adult, but she is not making dolls, as she once imagined, "despite repeatedly requesting an apprenticeship. She is out front, "making sales, getting into trouble for being insufficiently cheerful with the customers".

Persephone is a compelling, determined heroine of The Thief on the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas. It is not easy to define the genre of this novel in one word, as it is a mix of fantasy, magic realism, crime and feminist philosophy.

 

The Kendrick family have been making famous enchanted dolls since the early 1800s. Their craftsmanship is exquisite, and their magic abilities are coveted by the collectors around the world. Each doll has a unique specific emotion attached to it by the sorcerer. Touch the doll, and you will be affected by Heady Optimism or Bucolic Bliss or some other strong emotion. 

The doll-making business has been founded by four sisters - Lucy, Rebecca, Sally and Jemima. The workshop continues to trade as a family business by the descendants of the sisters. In fact, only the family members are allowed in it. Despite being founded by women, this mini-world of dollmakers and sorcerers, is now ruled by men, while women are pushed to the lower echelons of crafts. The Kendricks' famous workrooms are the only source of magic dolls in this country or any other.

One autumnal day, a stranger enters the shop. He walks around, looking at the dolls. He touches them gently, drawing a new feeling from each one.

The young girl at the counter doesn't acknowledge him, she is scowling deeply. When she talks to the stranger, her tone is surly. She doesn't make a good sales assistant. As we later find out, Persephone resents her position. She is startled when the stranger requests a meeting with the head of the family, Conrad Kendrick. Larkin claims to be a descendant of one of the sisters, and thus wants to find a job in the workshop. The story sounds like a product of a fantasist, because Jemima Ramsay died in childbirth and didn't leave any offspring.

Hedwig Mayhew works for Conrad Kendrick as a domestic manager and representative. She is young, ego-driven and enjoys the power she has. "Her favourite responsibility was settling bills, because she liked imagining that she instead of Conrad, was immensely rich".

While waiting to be admitted to Conrad's office, Larkin sees the cage, where the most important doll of the family is displayed behind iron bars - the Paid Mourner. The doll was made in 1821 to mark the passing of Jemima. The doll is exquisite, but Hedwig doesn't share Larkin's admiration. "Only financial worth inspired her interest. Growing up on Paxton's Eyot ensured her grasp of trade information. The most important thing about the Paid Mourner was the market value. Pride in Kendricks' wealth made Hedwig booast; she whispered, gleefully: "She's worth two million pounds."

Larkin explains to Conrad why he wants to work for the family business, " To make people feel joy - and awe - and every other emotion your magic brings. No other doll maker can teach me that. The Kendricks Workshop is unique".

Conrad makes a decision to hire Larkin in a reduced capacity, even if just to keep a watchful eye on him. He will only be permitted to craft the dolls, not lay enchantments.

Persephone is resentful that the stranger to the family gets a place in the workshop. She has seen his work, and understands that he is very gifted. "With this proof of his ability, Persephone wished still more intensely that she were in his place. No, more than that; she wanted to be him. To have a vision, and to be permitted to realise it, was so enviable". She is watching Larkin and hopes that her fortunes will change as well.

Abandoned by her mother, Persephone lives with the alcoholic father Briar, who's abusive and has a strange hold on her. If she leaves him and the eyot, she will never be allowed to become who she wants to be.

Then, one night, when the family is holding an annual masked ball, their most valuable doll is stolen from the premises. Who could have taken it? Only someone who knows how to handle magic, and the fingers are pointing in one direction.

The magic is part of life of the small island community. Their belief in the fae world is strong. There is an old eyot superstition. "When we lose an object, we say it's been taken by the Thief; he's one of the fae folk, and he rides a winged horse. He only returns what we've lost when we offer something in exchange".

The Thief on the Winged Horse is a fascinating novel, with original characters and marvellous setting of the fictional island in Oxford with its isolated community and its insular ideas. This is the suffocating world where the parochial attitude to women and their subjugated role is so outdated. The history goes back to the four sisters who only had sons, so there were no women sorcerers in the next generation. 

"Those men decided that their daughters should receive a hex, like the boys, for their own protection form the Thief, but fathers must act as intermediary in translating the symbol... Women never regained a proper foothold. Sorcery became men's work. That was the company line. The women who did break through were belittled".

Female empowerment is one of the themes of the book. We root for the socially inept Persephone to grow her own wings, through heart-break and self-discovery.

I especially enjoyed reading the descriptions of the doll-making techniques, varieties of materials, different ideas for dioramas and doll's houses. 

I felt the ending was a bit rushed, and would have liked some of the plotlines to be explored more in-depth.

The Gothic, melancholic tones of the novel suit perfectly the darker late autumn and winter evenings.

Many thanks to Kate Mascarenhas and Head of Zeus for my limited edition proof.

This post is part of the blog tour.

P.S. In case you are wondering about the artwork around the book, I painted the Venetian Dolls series about 15-17 years ago. There were many more pieces in the series, all painted in black and red water colour with a brush (this is not an ink and pen work). 

Photo diary: week 43, project 366

It was quite a productive week, we had a big meeting at Sasha's school, and also submitted the application for secondary school for Eddie.

We're only two years behind with Pokémon Go, but last week Eddie asked me if I would download the app to my iPhone for him to play. If anyone is late to the party, like we are, and would like to become friends on Pokémon Go, please let us know. 

Here is Eddie, with his buddy in the café.

On Tuesday we had an Annual Review meeting to discuss Sasha's future. It was a beautiful autumnal morning, when we travelled to Oxford. This church is on the way to the school.

The meeting went well. I'm in awe of the school staff. It's heart-warming to know that there are other people in Sasha's life who are fond of him and care about his future. We were very lucky with his previous school which he attended until 16, and we are very lucky with the current school. I just hope that Sasha will find a transition to college not too upsetting in the next year.

The school are also helping us with sorting out the respite. Up until he turned 18, Sasha was staying overnight at the respite place in Banbury twice a month, but since early March, nothing has been done because of Covid. He enjoyed going to the respite, as they spoilt him rotten there, cooking his favourite meals and taking him out for walks in the late afternoon. We used this opportunity to recharge the batteries and have a good night's sleep too. 

I have entered the Bonne Maman/Waitrose competition on the last day of promotion back in September, submitting the code from the receipt online, and a few days later was delighted to get an email that I've won a Bonne Maman hamper. It has finally arrived, and I love the woven basket. It would do nicely for all my recipe clippings and book reviews. The madeleines and little tarts are delicious too.

I was chatting to a Twitter friend who lives in the States. She wanted to see some of my Mum's artwork, so I posted two portraits that my Mum painted of my sons. This is Eddie, as he was five years old, by the sea in Cornwall. She captured him perfectly. I love this work. The technique is hot enamel. It is similar to porcelain paints, and the artwork is fired in the kiln up to 800C many times, with the paints layered over and over. The surface is quite textured, and there are fine crackles over it, which are not seen in the photo.

Not a photo but a screenshot of one of Memories on Facebook, which made me smile. I don't remember this conversation, but my son still doesn't rate my singing highly.

On Friday my child ran out of his class, clutching a trophy to his heart. He's been selected a Pupil of the week. One very proud Mum here. He totally deserves it. We walked home, and showed the trophy to our acquaintances on the way. 

I have been playing around with props, trying to do a photo for the forthcoming book review of Inside Voices. It is a YA fiction, set in Alaska. It's an unusual story of a young girl who brings up an orphaned polar bear. She witnessed a mass shooting at high school a few years previously, and has a PSTD. It's a beautiful poignant story, and if you want to read my full review, drop by on the 29th.

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Photo diary: week 46, project 365

We're having a quiet early evening today. Eddie is working on his Tudor project for school, creating an illuminated title page. Mum has offered to cook dinner for kids, so I can have a rest from my kitchen duties. Sash is watching YouTube cooking videos, he loves the American cake videos with the most outlandish cakes. And my darling husband is flying home from Italy as we speak.

Last Sunday we had a quick bite at Costa, Eddie enjoyed a pigs in blankets roll, and I had a festive spiced cappuccino, which looked pretty but again was too sweet to my taste.

On Monday a friend took my Mum and me by car to the Burford garden centre. While Mum was browsing the aisles with the seeds and bulbs, Jen and I checked out a new Reading room with art books and gorgeous stationery. The prices, however, are totally crazy - for example, these beautiful notebooks cost £36 each. There was a sealed book set on Leonardo at £400.

A dental appointment first thing in the morning for Eddie.

On Wednesday I persuaded my Mum to visit the Ashmolean. She's been there before, but not in the last couple of years. With my boys, I tend to stay longer in the Egyptian rooms, as Eddie loves looking at the mummies, while Sash prefers the Greek sculpture, and we rarely go upstairs to see the European art.
This is the Ideal Head by Antonio Canova.

With all the rain in the last weeks, the river Windrush has burst out of its banks, and the flood plains are under water. When I was walking towards the bridge from town, some bloke on the bike asked me sarcastically if I could swim. Like it's any of his business what I plan to do.

When we were in Oxford on Wednesday, we also visited the flea market, and Mum bought this Tudor-style bell to take back to Russia as a gift for a friend who collects the vintage bells. The seller wasn't sure about what historical period it could be. I don't think the bell is that old, but the lady is dressed in a Tudor-style dress.

The iris pods in the garden look so pretty.

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Photo diary: week 45, project 365

We're getting closer and closer to Christmas, the shops are full of festive treats and gifts.
I've been looking at the selection of panettones in Waitrose, but won't be buying any until the end of this month, or we'll be tempted to eat it.

"The autumn Moon is incomparably beautiful. Any man who supposes the Moon is always the same, regardless of the season, and is therefore unable to detect the difference in autumn, must be exceedingly insensitive", pronounced wise man Kenko in AD 1331.

We had a sudden outburst of hail in the afternoon on Monday, but it stopped as abruptly as it started.

The morning of the Bonfire night started with a steady drizzle, and we thought we wouldn't be able to have a bonfire later. But my clever Mum, who prepared the bonfire, has covered it, and while still pretty wet in the afternoon, we put on old coats and ventured into the garden.

That day we had Eddie's friend over, after school, and the boys had fun, roasting marshmallows on wooden skewers.

My Mum who just loves open fires and bonfires said she probably enjoyed it even more than the boys.

On Wednesday Sasha had his overnight stay at the respite home, and Eddie had an afterschool club for the first time ever. I have booked sessions for this half term, and will see how it goes.
I convinced Mum to go to Oxford, so we got on the bus and went to the West Gate shopping centre. We were looking for gifts for my Mum to take with her when she travels back home.
My Mum always refuses to eat or drink anything in the cafes, but this time I insisted we should go to have coffee. Well, I did have a latte, and she ordered a hot chocolate.
We were sitting in the café, and I laughed, saying that this is the most middle class experience - to have a coffee in the John Lewis café.

I spotted a recipe card in Waitrose for a passion fruit drizzle loaf cake, and decided to bake it on Friday. I have reduced a sugar content quite a bit, and I was right, it didn't need more sugar.
The cake is very moist and tasty, and I will definitely bake it again.

It's a day of a torrential rain here. I woke up with a terrible migraine, and had to lie down as soon as I fixed breakfast for the boys, because apparently nobody else can do it. Sigh.
Later I decided to venture out, hoping that the fresh air would ease my aching head.
I bought a copy of The Dinky Donkey for Sash. We are reading the original The Wonky Donkey every single day, as being autistic, my son insists on reading books from the same stash of books by his bedside.
We've already read it today, and it's just not as good as the original book.

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Photo diary: week 27, project 365

Is it just me, or the evening light is already getting a little bit shorter?! I usually water the potted plants around 8pm, and noticed that it's not as bright outside as it was a couple of weeks ago.

Last Sunday we made a trip to Oxford, and thankfully it was cooler than the previous day.
Since it was on Sasha's request, he chose going first to McDonalds and then to the Ashmolean. I really need to pick a day and make a trip there on my own, as with the boys we tend to spend more time in the Ancient worlds rooms, and I do want to revisit the later periods and look at the paintings.

Eddie loves the Egyptians, he enjoys exploring the artefacts, especially the mummies.

On Monday I was taking some last minute photos for the book review, which I finished recently - Storytellers by B.Larssen. It is a brilliant novel set in Iceland in 1920. For me this was the best novel of the year so far.

On Tuesday I was invited to have a coffee at a neighbour's house. We are not house neighbours, but our gardens are divided by a big stone wall. The conversation took a slightly surreal turn, when the lady mentioned that they've noticed that our fig tree has no fruit this year. And apparently, the squirrel who used to eat our figs has now eaten all the figs in their garden.
I didn't know what to say to that really, it's not like it's my pet squirrel, and what am I supposed to do with such an inconsiderate animal?
Rather than that, I enjoyed looking at their well-kept garden, with lots of roses, lavender and lilies.

In summer I tend to make lots of salads for dinner. This is the base of the Italian-style salad, which I served two ways - with tuna (for omnivores) and goat's cheese (vegetarian version).

Running to collect Eddie from school I've spotted two aeroplanes moving towards each other. From my point it looked like they were going to collide, but of course, they were on different levels.

After a quick coffee with a friend, I walked to the Royal mail depot to pick up a packet, and also to talk to them. The day before I arrived home after the school run to find two books, which I bought on ebay, to be posted through the letterbox. They were folded in half, and the covers got damaged in the process.
From the packaging it was obvious that these were books. Just what kind of a imbecile careless person folds books in half?!
I know you're not supposed to take photos with the sun straight in the camera, but I liked the look of those rippled clouds. It looks like an evening, while it was still pretty early in the day.

Today Eddie and I went to see Spiderman: Far from home, while Sasha went out with his father to do things they enjoy.
The film was actually better than expected. Eddie loved it, and generously rated it 8 and a half out of 10, but even I cede it was pretty good, if you like Marvel films. The only problem I have with Tom Holland as Spidey is he doesn't look like a 16-year-old, and neither does Zendaya as MJ.

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Photo diary: week 8, project 365

February brings us longer days and lighter mornings. Just a few weeks ago, it was pretty dark when my alarm went off early in the morning. Now it's already light even before I'm ready to start the day.
In a few days February will be over, and I will be officially on the wrong side of 50, sigh.

Last week was a midterm break, which we all needed. I truly admire parents who do daily trips around the country and educational visits to famous landmarks, but I don't have a stamina and enthusiasm for this kind of dedication. We went to Oxford twice this week, and for me that was plenty.

Last Sunday I was finally able to try a Gregg's vegan sausage roll. Taste-wise, it wasn't bad at all. The pastry tasted less greasy than its meaty counterpart, and the filling was OK, rather nondescript but edible. I read that it is made with a fermented fungus (sounds rather scary).
I have satisfied my curiosity, now it's back to chocolate eclairs and donuts at Gregg's which are pretty good value for money.

The sky on Monday evening was all pink and purple. The Moon looked beautiful and a bit eerie. It felt like something sinister was going to happen, thankfully, it didn't.

On Tuesday we all jumped on the bus to Oxford. Sasha's been showing me the PECs from his old school story books, building up sentences that he wanted to go to Oxford on a double-decker bus and visit Burger King. I think they used to take his class there once in a while.
I've never been inside a Burger King in my life, and I've lived here for about 25 years.
Sasha was ecstatic on the bus, smiling a happy smile.
Eddie and I took selfies on the bus. As you do.
I believe he looks very much like me in this photo, what do you think?

This week I've been reading a book by Nicola Pryce - The Cornish Lady - for the forthcoming blog tour. I haven't read much, with holidays getting under way.
I talked to my Mum about the book, and she asked me if I was reviewing it for a fee. I said: I wish.

This is a really rubbish quality photo, because my child and I were giggling too much. We called it an "inappropriate carrot".

Reading at bedtime with Eddins. We're now on book 4 in the Raven Mysteries series, and I'm getting slightly frustrated with it. We loved the first book, thought it was wonderful, funny and amusing, but by book 4 I'm rather vexed with the fact that the servants are killed off left and right. They are dispensable like commodities. I get it, that it's the satire-horror genre, but still...
I'm sure we will read the last two books in the series, but I wish the servants were treated kinder.

Another trip to Oxford by bus today. It was rather hot, especially on the bus. We popped into the Blackwell's shop, and looked at the Harry Potter section.

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Photo diary: week 6, project 365

Just a week ago we had a garden full of snow, and were able to have a snowball fight. By today it's already a distant memory, as the snow was almost all gone by Tuesday.

Sunday was a wet day, with the constant drizzle eating the snow slowly away. I looked at some of the patterns of the leafless branches in the garden.

There were the last remnants of snow in the garden, but to Eddie's chagrin, most of the snow was gone, and the schools were open for business, as normal.

I'm trying to remember what I did on Tuesday. I clearly didn't take any photos, as I can't find anything on my iphone. I did receive a new jigsaw puzzle that day, and was too keen to start it, and I was also trying to finish the thriller I was reading, so that is my excuse for the lack of photos.

Wednesday morning was misty and foggy, when I got up and looked out of the window, but by the time we walked to school, the mist lingered just a little bit.

Thursday was a super busy day for me. In the morning, as soon as I took Eddie to school, we hopped on the bus to Oxford to meet with Sasha's psychiatrist and school team to discuss the medication he's been taking in the last couple of months. We decided for now not to change anything and keep taking the prescribed dose.

While waiting at the bus stop outside Sasha's school, I spotted this big bird (a kite?) just above our heads. It was flying very low, but by the time I got out the iphone, entered the pass code, and opened the camera, it went higher up and didn't wait for me. I did a few snaps.

In the evening our Waterstone's book shop - along with the other book shops and libraries - hosted a Harry Potter event. The book shop was completely packed.
Children were divided into four houses of Hogwarts. The sorting hat was actually a big tray of cupcakes. You had to bite in to reveal the colour of your house inside.
Eddie was pleased to be assigned to Gryffindor. There was a quiz (we were pretty rubbish at the quiz), a colouring competition, a hunt for clues hidden in the shop, reading etc.

We had a lovely time. I was the only parent who attended in a costume. I borrowed an academic gown and mortar hat from my husband, and went to the party as Professor McGonagall, just to embarrass my son and his friend.

Later we went to Pizza Express for a late dinner, as Sasha had his overnight stay at the respite centre.
We had to wait for over an hour, and were ready to leave the restaurant by the time the pizza finally arrived.

I took a lot of photos during the Harry Potter event, and then we played with the filter. Eddie wanted to have this photo in black and white.

On Friday a friend took me to Lidl by car. I haven't been there in the last couple of years. It's pretty far for me to walk, as it's almost out of town. I did a list of the best wine to buy in Lidl according to the Decanter magazine, but none of the recommended bottles were available. I did buy two bottles of Tokaj, as my birthday is coming later this month, and we might have friends over for dinner.

A friend came over, and I gave her the book I finished reading earlier this week, as she enjoys thrillers as much as I do.

Today is just a usual round of things to do: grocery shopping, a quick trip to Costa in between a library and shops, choosing some Pokemon cards for Eddie ( we got one GX card, yay!).
I might bake cookies later, if I can master some energy.

And here is a little bit more of our garden, with snowdrops taking over. They are truly all over the place.

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Mummies galore

Meresamun, the singer

A couple of days ago Eddie and I were browsing the shelves of the "pre-loved" DVDs in Poundland, our favourite place to shop for snacks and plastic tat treasures. I have spotted all three The Mummy movies (the original ones, not the latest film with Tom Cruise which I haven't seen).
I couldn't resist buying them, to revisit my youth and introduce my child to the pleasures of the trashy horror.

We have watched all the Goosebumps on Netflix, and of course, the Goosebumps film. While enjoying the scary parts, Eddie tends to sit next to me, just in case, and if I need to pop in to the kitchen to brew a cup of tea, he would pause the film and wait for me.

We watched The Mummy, hiding behind the big cushions when the scarabs were taking over, but quite often giggled too and said Eww, that's gross!
Eddie thought it was the best film ever.

After watching this masterpiece, I thought it might be a good idea to visit The Ashmolean and see the real Egyptian mummies. Earlier this year we went to the National History Museum and saw some of the glorious sarcophagi.

Temple singer Meresamun, The Ashmolean Musuem

Sasha had a day of activities with Barnardo's, so Eddie and I hopped on the bus to Oxford and enjoyed our time together, just the two of us.

The Ashmolean Museum is a splendid place to visit, and there is so much to see and learn. It is the most visited British museum outside London. Several years ago, it has reopened its Ancient Egyptian collections.

You can argue that displaying the human remains to the public is not ethical, but at the same time the museums spend vast sums of money to preserve them for the eternity. I'm in two minds about seeing mummies in the museums.

They are, of course, an incredible study of culture and history, but they are also dead bodies.
In one of the rooms, you can see a mummy of a two-year-old child. Though it happened thousands of years ago, the death of a child is a tragedy.
Next to it there is a glass installation created by Angela Palmer. The scans made on the little mummy have revealed that the child had a twisted hip and a deformed skull. The artist was so touched by these facts that she visited Hawara, the place where the little mite lived his short life. She brought back with her a handful of sand to place next to the mummified remains.
It feels poignant but also reverential.

The mummy of the 2-year-old boy from Hawara

We loved the Pharaoh Taharqa's shrine, which was once a huge temple. There is a statue of Taharqa inside. We looked for his name written in hieroglyphs outside the shrine, inside the frame called a cartouche.

Pharaoh Taharqa

Pharaoh Taharqa

As canopic jars with preserved organs feature quite prominently in the Mummy film, I pointed them out to Eddie in the museum.

This is the Ram of Amun, he is keeping Pharaoh Taharq safe.

If you've seen The Mummy, you might remember how scared The Mummy was of the cat. Ancient Egyptians revered cats and mummified them as well, so that they could live in the afterlife too.
Seeing this mummy of the cat brought back memories of my childhood and visits to the Pushkin Musuem of Fine Arts in Moscow, where you can find a mummified cat as well.

mummified cat

This is a sarcophagus of Ptahhotep, steward of the treasury.

Ptahhotep, steward of the treasury

We only studied the Ancient Egypt collections and didn't venture beyond that.
I wanted Eddie to learn something from ancient history, while his memory is still fresh after watching the film.

As you enter the Egyptian rooms, you can find a little chest of drawers with activities for children. We picked two of them - Ancient Egyptian Survival Guide (what you need to know to journey safely through life and into the afterlife) and Ancient Egyptian Animal Adventure (which invites you to find amazing and magical animals in ancient Egypt). They are cleverly done, and make a visit to the museum more fun.

One of my favourite pieces in the Ancient Egypt collections is this delicate spoon.

I also admired the Mummy with perky boobs, which is on display as you leave the Egyptian collections and move onto the Fayum mummies of the Coptic period.

It was better not to cram as much as possible in one day, and not visit the other ancient worlds. We came home and looked at the book An Egyptian Pyramid.
And that was our foray into culture for the moment. We are ready to watch The Mummy Returns.