This book has been over a decade in the contemplation and writing, and during that time I’ve received help, encouragement,
and advice from a great many people—too many to acknowledge individually. But I would particularly like to thank my UK and
U.S. agents, Luigi Bonomi and George Lucas, and my editors, Wayne Brookes and Jaime Levine, both for seeing something they
liked in the original manuscript and for helping me make it better. I’d also like to thank Colin Clement for correcting my
worst excesses about life and archaeology in Alexandria and Egypt. It goes without saying that where any mistakes remain,
they are mine alone.
