Paperback. Pub Date: 2002 Pages: 512 Publisher: Chicago Review Press First published in the United States in 1949 and Widely condemned as filthy. foul. The Egyptian outsold the every other novel published that year. And remains a classic; Readers Worldwide have testified to its life-changing power. It is a full-bodied re-creation of a largely forgotten era in the world 's history: the Egypt of the 14th century BCE. when pharaohs and gods contended with the near-collapse of history' s greatest empire. This epic tale encompasses the whole of the then-known world. from Babylon to Crete. from Thebes to Jerusalem. while centering around one unforgettable figure: Sinuhe. a man of mysterious origins who rises from the depths of degradation to become personal physician to Pharaoh Akhnaton.