Interwar Egypt and Nile Tourism, 1922–1939

Britain formally recognised Egyptian independence in 1922, but retained extensive influence over defence, foreign affairs and the Suez Canal. The monarchy, nationalist politics and British officials therefore coexisted within an unequal political settlement that was renegotiated by the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936.

The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb intensified international fascination with ancient Egypt. Railways, hotels and Nile steamers carried wealthy visitors to temples and excavations, often presenting the country through a romanticised archaeological lens that obscured modern Egyptian society and the labour supporting tourism.

Death Sets Sail uses a Nile cruise and a British spiritualist society obsessed with pharaonic reincarnation for the final Wells and Wong investigation. The setting draws on interwar Egyptomania and luxury travel while allowing the detectives to confront the assumptions carried abroad by privileged tourists.