Edward William Lane (1801-76), a name known to almost anyone in Middle East studies, was the translator or author of a number of highly influential works: The Thousand and One Nights, Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, and the Arabic-English Lexicon. Yet one of his greatest works, Description of Egypt, was never published, for financial reasons. Sold to the British Museum by Lanes widow in 1891, the manuscript has only now been salvaged for publication, nearly 170 years after its completion. Written in the form of a journey through Egypt from north to south, this important book includes descriptions of all the ancient monuments and contemporary life that Lane explored along the way.