The Twelve Rooms of the Nile - by Enid Shomer (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This "mesmerizing new work of historical fiction" (The Miami Herald) imagines the deep friendship of Florence Nightingale and Gustave Flaubert as they travel up the Nile.

Before she became the nineteenth century's greatest heroine, before he had written a word of Madame Bovary, Florence Nightingale and Gustave Flaubert traveled down the Nile at the same time in 1850. But where history would have these two figures float right by each other, the award-winning writer Enid Shomer brings them together to ignite a passionate friendship that alters both their destinies.

Shomer, whose writing The New York Times has praised as "beautifully cadenced, and surprising in its imaginative reach," brings to life the opu-lent tapestry of mid-nineteenth-century Egypt as the unlikely soul mates come together to share their darkest torments and most fervent hopes.

Review Quotes

"A mesmerizing new work of historical fiction. . . .The Twelve Rooms of the Nile...ribald and sometimes explicitly sexual, is a fascinating travel back in time"-- "The Miami Herald"

"I could not imagine it: Gustave Flaubert and Florence Nightingale as friends, almost as lovers! Step by step, detail by detail, Shomer constructs the story of how a man and a woman with nothing in common but genius, one French, one English, one steeped in cynicism, one drowning in despair, could meet on the Nile in 1850, talk, write, hold hands, and see into each other's souls. As brilliantly sensual as it is finely psychological, this novel is a tour de force of twenty-first century storytelling."--Gillian Gill "author of Nightingales"

"Let's talk about the imagery first. Let's choose one word: magnificent. This is the Nile; this is Egypt; this is desert sun and camel rhythms, Harem seduction and 'spavined mules.' This is what Shomer does best."-- "The Chicago Tribune"

"Poetic . . . Enid Shomer's debut novel begins where historical documentation leaves off, imagining a strong friendship between the lost, pre-Madame Bovary Flaubert and the earnest 29-year-old Nightingale searching for a purpose."-- "USA Today"

"Shomer's exquisite debut is an intellectual adventure. . . . The superb characterizations, poignant observation on the Egyptian religion, and depictions of the land's ethereal beauty--all perfectly interwoven--are rendered in memorable language that excites and enriches the mind."--Sarah Johnson "Booklist (starred review)"

"Tender and marvelously imagined."-- "NPR, The Best Historical Fiction of 2012"

"The meeting in 1850 of Florence Nightingale and Gustave Flaubert in Egypt, an unlikely but immensely satisfying confluence, is deftly imagined in this brilliant book. The louche Flaubert and the sober Miss Nightingale are fitting representations of ourselves as life's travelers--alternately lazy and alert, sensuous and restrained, complacent and curious."--Susanna Moore "author of The Big Girls"

"With the voice of a poet and a keen eye for time, place, and character, Enid Shomer tells of the imagined intersection of two famous lives - and the communion of two unlikely souls - on the crossroads of the Nile. Beautifully written, touchingly rendered."--Alan Brennert "author of Moloka'i"

About the Author

Enid Shomer won the Iowa Fiction Prize for her first collection of stories and the Florida Gold Medal for her second. She is also the author of four books of poetry. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, and many other publications. She lives in Tampa, Florida.