This is an account of the Egyptians from the first settlers in the Nile Valley through to the present day. Egypt has the longest, continuous, known history of any country in the world.

Barbara Watterson received her doctorate from the University of Liverpool. She is currently a freelance lecturer in Egyptology, working, in particular, in Adult Education. Her previous books Women in Ancient Egypt (1991), Introductory Egyptian Hieroglyphics (secind edition, 1993) and Gods of Ancient Egypt (1996).