The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle by Pamela Rushby
About Pamela Rushby
Pamela Rushby is the author of over 200 books for children and young adults, as well as children’s TV scripts, documentaries, short stories and freelance journalism. Pam has been an advertising copywriter, pre-school teacher, and producer of educational television, audio and multimedia. She has won several awards, including the NSW Premier’s Ethel Turner Prize, six CBCA Notable Books – and a bag of gold coins at a film festival in Iran! Pam believes the strangest, most riveting, heart-breaking, laugh-out-loud stories aren’t fiction. They’re real. They come from history. And she loves tripping over unusual incidents from history – and then writing about them. For further information, visit Pamela’s website.
A Quote from Pamela Rushby
“I am utterly thrilled and honoured to be on the shortlist for the ARA Historical Novel Prize! I love tripping over little-known events in history and writing about them. So when I discovered Victorian mummy-unwrapping parties (yes, they were real!) I was desperate to put them in a book. Somehow, fantasy crept in: an orphaned heroine, a guardian unfortunately eaten by a crocodile, a ruined castle in the fens, a family of house-keeping cats that polish floors and bake muffins, and a mummy-smuggling thousand-mile journey up the Nile. It was really total self-indulgence: I wrote the book I would have loved to read when I was ten, a mix of fantasy and totally accurate historical details. Beautifully illustrated by Nelle May Pierce. I had the best fun researching and writing this, and I’m so pleased others are liking it too. Many thanks to the judges, ARA and HNSA.”
About The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle
1873 England: Orphaned Hattie goes to live with her great uncle and aunt in their crumbling castle in the English Fens. There, Great Aunt Iphigenia hosts flamboyant mummy-unwrapping parties to save her home from ruin – until the mummy supply runs out. On a dangerous search for more, a thousand miles up the Nile, Hattie is haunted by these ancient souls and tries to free them with unexpected consequences. A potent blend of fantasy and history, this rambunctious story has it all!
Quotes from the Judging Panel
“This captivating first sentence of The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle by Pamela Rushby sets the tone for this quirky, rollicking tale of mummies, castles, crocodiles and villains. We are taken back to England in 1973 when orphaned twelve-year-old Hattie goes to live with her great uncle and aunt in their crumbling castle in the English Fens. There, Great Aunt Iphigenia hosts flamboyant mummy-unwrapping parties to save her home from ruin – until the mummy supply runs out. The family are forced to embark on a perilous journey up the Nile in search of more mummies- with some very unexpected consequences.”
“This is a well written and impeccably researched tale offering a fascinating exploration of Egyptian history, the mummification process, artefacts, hieroglyphs and more. The novel also raises really interesting questions such as whether mummies should be displayed in museums today. Rushby’s text is creatively supported with black and white illustrations by Nelle May Pierce and is perfectly pitched for middle grade readers.”
