Mummy, or Ramses the Damned

The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned

Publisher's info
Title:	The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned
Author:	Anne Rice
Publisher:	Ballantine Books
1st printing:	May 6th, 1989
ISBN:	ISBN 0345360001
Page count:	448
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The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned is an American novel of the horror genre. It was written by author Anne Rice and published by Ballantine Books. It was first released in paperback format on May 6th, 1989. It is the first of a three-book series.

Plot[]

An archaeologist has just unearthed the find of his career, the tomb of Ramses II. The door to the tomb is lettered with a curse, the mummy of the king who claimed to be immortal lies shriveled inside. The archaeologist dies and the treasures are shipped to his daughter Julie in England, who finds that the mummy comes to life as a perfect man. Julie grows to love him and introduces him to modern life, including the museums that purport to reconstruct his time. He becomes disturbed and disgusted with the modern portrayal of his beloved Cleopatra.

Ramses and Julie, her ex-fiance and his father Elliott in tow, travel to Egypt. There, Ramses is further upset by the tourist flavor given to his ancient civilization. In one of the museums, he recognizes an "unknown" mummified woman as his beloved Cleopatra.

One night, he returns with the immortality elixir and raises her from the dead. But Cleopatra is not restored to her beautiful body or mind. She is a horrid monster, a walking corpse of rotting flesh and a disoriented mind that kills without mercy. Ramses abandons her, leaving her to Elliott, not realizing that he too is in peril. All in the party partake of the elixir, with Cleopatra and Ramses in the shadows.

Appearances[]

Featured characters

Julie Stratford
Ramses II, Reginald Ramsey

Supporting characters

Alex Savarell
Edith Savarell
Elliot Rutherford
Marc Antony
Randolph Stratford
Samir Ibrahaim

Villains

Cleopatra
Henry Stratford

Minor characters

Inspector Trent
Lawrence Stratford
Rita
Sergeant Galton
Tommy Sharples

Organizations

Stafford Shipping

Races

Locations

Africa

Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Cairo
Nile River

England

London

Items

Vehicles

Powers

Miscellaneous

Notes & Trivia[]

The Mummy, or Ramses the Dead existed as a stand-alone story for many years. In 2017, author Anne Rice collaborated with her son Christopher Rice on a follow up novel, Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra. A third novel, Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris was jointly-authored and released in February, 2022, two months after Anne Rice's passing.
This novel has been adapted as a comic book series called Mummy, or Ramses the Damned, which was produced by Millennium Publications and ran for twelve issues from October, 1990 to February, 1992.
Author Anne Rice is also known for the creation of the "Vampire Chronicles" series of novels, which began in 1976 with Interview with the Vampire, as well as her "Lives of the Mayfair Witches" series, which starts with The Witching Hour, published in 1990, one year after The Mummy.