Cracking the Egyptian Code

Andrew Robinson, author and former literary editor of The Times Higher Education Supplement, discusses his new book, Cracking the Egyptian Code: The Revolutionary Life of Jean-François Champollion - the first biography in English of the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Champollion is widely considered to be the founder of Egyptology, researching the Egyptian language and script in order to understand the civilization as a whole.

Robinson’s book is an account of the rivalry between two scholars, Champollion and Dr Thomas Young, who were total opposites - intellectually, politically and emotionally - and is a gripping tale of a race to unlock the secrets of a great but neglected civilization.

Read the Wall Street Journal's review of Cracking the Egyptian Code.

Admission: by free ticket only, available from yorkfestivalofideas.com/tickets