Lynn Meskell has written the most detailed and insightful account of ordinary life in New Kingdom Egypt ever to see print. It will supersede all previous works on this subject.—Bruce Trigger, McGill University"This is an original, stimulating, and readable work. The author presents life in ancient Egypt in an illuminating biographical framework, treating personal relations, gender, and sexuality extensively on the basis of a uniquely rich archaeological and textual record, especially from Deir el-Medina. The book makes a most valuable contribution at the levels of theory and of vital and accessible data."—John Baines, Oxford University"Egyptology has been for many decades an intensely conservative, text-based discipline. Meskell's work is refreshing for breaking away to reassess textual, visual, and archaeological evidence to reconstruct how individuals experienced private life in the New Kingdom. It is well written and very accessible—an excellent and innovative project that will appeal to a broad audience of scholars, students, and general readers."—Gay Robins, author of The Art of Ancient Egypt