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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the story of Dorothy Eady, a strong willed, intelligent English eccentric (born in 1904) who develped a fascination for Ancient Egypt at a very young age. Later she married an Egyptian, went to Egypt, and had a son. Later still she abandoned both her marriage and her son and -- believing she was the reincarnation of a Egyptian temple priestess who committed suicide when her sexual liason with the Pharaoh Sety I was about to be discovered -- spent the rest of her long life helping Egyptologists, and secretly continuing her affair with the long dead Egyptian monarch.
If she had been a feather brained female who thought it was romantic and fun to flirt with ancient history, Dorothy Eady's story would be far less interesting. But from all accounts, apart from convincing herself that a dead Pharaoh visited her at night, she was level headed, independent and clever enough (despite having no academic training) to be a great help to many Egyptologists.
Omm Sety (it means Mother of Sety, Sety being the name she gave her son) made no money from her bizarre belief, and gained no publicity. She only shared her secret with a few trusted friends, late in her life. Most people simply saw an interesting English woman who fed numerous cats, and was willing to guide them round the temple site at Abydos. But it's obvious from the detailed diary that she kept (much of it reproduced in this book) that Sety I (she called him HM - His Majesty)was as real to her as the tourists and archeologists that she met every day.
Omm Sety enjoyed very few luxuries and in later years, despite being in dire financial straits, refused help from her son and his family. She was, to the end, stubborn and strong willed .... and her belief in HM's "reality" never wavered.
Unfortunately her descriptions of her liasons with Sety read like Mills and Boon - perhaps she was unconsciously detailing the kind of romantic affair that she wished she could have had? But even if you believe (as I do) that Dorothy Eady was suffering for some kind of psychological disorder that produced hallucinations, or trances, or whatever, this book is still a fascinating read.
If you really believe in reincarnation, you'll find it a delightful validation.
If she had been a feather brained female who thought it was romantic and fun to flirt with ancient history, Dorothy Eady's story would be far less interesting. But from all accounts, apart from convincing herself that a dead Pharaoh visited her at night, she was level headed, independent and clever enough (despite having no academic training) to be a great help to many Egyptologists.
Omm Sety (it means Mother of Sety, Sety being the name she gave her son) made no money from her bizarre belief, and gained no publicity. She only shared her secret with a few trusted friends, late in her life. Most people simply saw an interesting English woman who fed numerous cats, and was willing to guide them round the temple site at Abydos. But it's obvious from the detailed diary that she kept (much of it reproduced in this book) that Sety I (she called him HM - His Majesty)was as real to her as the tourists and archeologists that she met every day.
Omm Sety enjoyed very few luxuries and in later years, despite being in dire financial straits, refused help from her son and his family. She was, to the end, stubborn and strong willed .... and her belief in HM's "reality" never wavered.
Unfortunately her descriptions of her liasons with Sety read like Mills and Boon - perhaps she was unconsciously detailing the kind of romantic affair that she wished she could have had? But even if you believe (as I do) that Dorothy Eady was suffering for some kind of psychological disorder that produced hallucinations, or trances, or whatever, this book is still a fascinating read.
If you really believe in reincarnation, you'll find it a delightful validation.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Riveting Revelations about the inner life of Omm Sety
12 Feb 2007
Format:Paperback
For those familiar with and intrigued by Omm Sety's legendary life, either through their own travels in Egypt or through Jonathan Cott's book about her, this work will fully satisfy your need to know her whole story, which has never before been revealed. The fascination of this book is such that it is almost impossible to put down. While alive, Omm Sety prudently did not make known or publish the full details of her profound and vivid interior life, for she would have been ridiculed by her peers and quite possibly, far worse by the village peasants she came to live among in Abydos. Wisely she did not cast her pearls to the swine. However, she bequeathed her diaries to her long-time friend Hanny el Zeini and authorized him to tell her full story posthumously. He is most ably assisted by Catherine Dees. And what a story it is! Recounted, with the unmistakable ring of authenticity, it is unique in the annals of literature, as far as I am aware. It describes a great love story between two souls originally of disparate social status --an Egyptian pharaoh and a virgin priestess dedicated to serving Osiris in the temple of Abydos. The transgression involved in their union had dire consequences at the time, but the love bond endured for thousands of years in the soul of Pharoah Sety I, biding his time and expiating his crime in Amenti, until the time was right and all necessary permissions were granted for him to find again his beloved priestess, reincarnated in the 20th century. She, Dorothy Eady, ranks among the great English eccentrics of all times, living a life completely outside of the rigid confines of the British box, and leading an adventurous, iconclastic, productive and significant, if utterly bizarre, existence in Abydos, Egypt, where she rekindled the life of the temple there and single-handedly accomplished enormously valuable archeological restoration. Important insights (from privileged spiritual sources) of Omm Sety are revealed concerning the locations of such important sites as the burial of Nefertiti. Her track record in such matters is demonstrable and very impressive, so that this publication could give rise to really important archaeological discoveries. Let's hope she receives her proper credit. It is a great document for Egyptologists, egytophiles, egyptomanes, lovers of the metaphysical and metaphysical lovers, who enjoy a great trans-dimensional love story.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
An Egyptologist booksellers view of a fine book.
6 July 2007
Format:Paperback
Through-out my life which has lead to eventually owning an Egyptological academic bookshop I have felt influenced by the lady known as Omm Sety. When I first read about her in a Reader's Digest book "Strange Stories and Amazing Facts" at the age of 12, I was smitten with the idea of past lives. My own interest in Ancient Egypt was already well rounded at that age. This was just another part of the jigsaw for me.
I have gone on to know several people who knew Omm Sety and I have visited her grave in Abydos. The first book I imported for my business in 1988 was Abydos, Holy City of Ancient Egypt. If you can get a copy do so as it was Omm Sety's seminal work.
Having said all of the above I highly recommend this book to readers, I read it over a few days, some of the information in this book you will find in earlier writings such as the Jonothon Cott book mentioned by the other reviewers, but this book rounds out the picture, it also covers Omm Sety's marriage and more information about her son, Sety.
Therefor this book now fills in the gaps in our knowledge of Omm Sety, what an extrodinary women she was, in her own way she influenced Egyptology greatly although many Egyptologist will only talk of that privately, she was also a great humanitarian and did very good works for the village surrounding Abydos temple.
I enjoyed the book very much and I hope that one day Hanny el Zeini will publish Omm Sety's complete diarys and notes to absolutely complete the picture.
Whether you are a academic Egyptologist, a past lifer, a romantic, or just interested in Strange stories I feel you will enjoy this book, and you'll want to buy a couple of copies for it would make a great gift.
Blessings to you Omm Sety your amazing life is an inspiration to all.
I have gone on to know several people who knew Omm Sety and I have visited her grave in Abydos. The first book I imported for my business in 1988 was Abydos, Holy City of Ancient Egypt. If you can get a copy do so as it was Omm Sety's seminal work.
Having said all of the above I highly recommend this book to readers, I read it over a few days, some of the information in this book you will find in earlier writings such as the Jonothon Cott book mentioned by the other reviewers, but this book rounds out the picture, it also covers Omm Sety's marriage and more information about her son, Sety.
Therefor this book now fills in the gaps in our knowledge of Omm Sety, what an extrodinary women she was, in her own way she influenced Egyptology greatly although many Egyptologist will only talk of that privately, she was also a great humanitarian and did very good works for the village surrounding Abydos temple.
I enjoyed the book very much and I hope that one day Hanny el Zeini will publish Omm Sety's complete diarys and notes to absolutely complete the picture.
Whether you are a academic Egyptologist, a past lifer, a romantic, or just interested in Strange stories I feel you will enjoy this book, and you'll want to buy a couple of copies for it would make a great gift.
Blessings to you Omm Sety your amazing life is an inspiration to all.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Charming Odyssey
3 Aug 2007
Format:Paperback
I've just finished reading "Omm Sety's Egypt", and wanted to say what a delightful book it is. I recall seeing a documentary a few years back centered around Omm Sety that left me wondering. Hanny & Catherine did a remarkable job of fleshing out that fascinating character in a warm, compassionate manner that also was quite scholarly. As a long-time student of ancient Egypt, I will never look at things the same way again, which can be called "growth", I think.
A glimpse, however seemingly fantastic, into our ancient world is a golden opportunity to learn things the strictly academic world does not offer. It's been my firm belief for decades that the fields of archaeology and Egyptology in particular have had their heads in the sand, so to speak. New discoveries are being made daily; I just wonder how many of them are getting swept under the rug because they don't dovetail with accepted theories.
I think I accept the experiences of Dorothy Eady because of a pet theory of mine. Greek mythology, I think, tells about the deceased being dipped in the "river of forgetfulness". If reincarnation is real, and I think it is, that might describe a "seal" placed on the consciousness at death, which would serve to separate "lives" from one another, to prevent contamination and preserve the purity of each individual "life". Traumatic injuries or near-death experiences might rupture that seal somehow, perhaps even provide a "link" to another place/time, as in Omm Sety's case. We know so very little about the "soul", but every testament like Dorothy's opens up a new window of exploration, and adds a missing piece to the puzzle of life.
This book will be read and re-read until it's dog-eared, I'm sure.
A glimpse, however seemingly fantastic, into our ancient world is a golden opportunity to learn things the strictly academic world does not offer. It's been my firm belief for decades that the fields of archaeology and Egyptology in particular have had their heads in the sand, so to speak. New discoveries are being made daily; I just wonder how many of them are getting swept under the rug because they don't dovetail with accepted theories.
I think I accept the experiences of Dorothy Eady because of a pet theory of mine. Greek mythology, I think, tells about the deceased being dipped in the "river of forgetfulness". If reincarnation is real, and I think it is, that might describe a "seal" placed on the consciousness at death, which would serve to separate "lives" from one another, to prevent contamination and preserve the purity of each individual "life". Traumatic injuries or near-death experiences might rupture that seal somehow, perhaps even provide a "link" to another place/time, as in Omm Sety's case. We know so very little about the "soul", but every testament like Dorothy's opens up a new window of exploration, and adds a missing piece to the puzzle of life.
This book will be read and re-read until it's dog-eared, I'm sure.
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