The chronicle of British savant Edward William Lane's first experiences with the Egyptian landscape, its antiquities and its people. Although most Western scholars of the Arab world recognize Lane as one of the great 19th-century scholars of Egypt, few are aware that he initially aspired to follow the artistic path of his great-uncle Thomas Gainsborough. Because of his skill with the camera-lucida, Edward conceived of his "Description" as a rival of the French "Description de l'Egypte" of Napoleon's expedition.