We hope you have been enjoying our current series on how the Charlotte Mason Method is different from other homeschool approaches. We’ll get back to our series next week. This week we wanted to let you know about a great new resource.

Letters from Egypt

Last summer while I was visiting family in Iowa, we spent a beautiful morning browsing through some antique shops. Of course, I’m interested in only one kind of antique: antique books! One little shop had a whole section of books, even categorized by subject.

When I came to the geography section, a title caught my eye: Letters from Egypt. My hopes began to rise. “Could this be the elusive geography book to complement our Genesis through Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt study?” I wondered.

Sure enough, from the very first paragraph I was captivated.

My Good Friends,

By God’s providence I have been led to settle in this distant land, and can but seldom visit England; however, I do not forget friends there, for whom I always have felt great interest. One day it came to my mind that I might do some little good to old folk at home—and perhaps to the young, too—in spite of being so far off, and having a large school to look after, and several other things; and this was my idea:—that I would write some simple familiar accounts of the land of Egypt where I dwell, which might be useful and pleasant, and which might lead such as are praying Christians (and I believe there are many such to be found in humble abodes) to join with me in asking the Lord to let the Gospel light shine into this land where there is so much of ignorance and darkness and false belief.

Mary Whately’s letters paint a fascinating picture of life in Egypt in 1879. Two aspects of her letters, in particular, fascinated me.

First, her insight into customs, culture, and climate ring true even today. Upon completing a read-through of this book, I picked up a modern photographic and diary account of Egypt. So many of the components of the photos and comments called up a mental connection with what Mary Whately described more than one hundred years ago!

Second, the Scriptural tie-ins that she pointed out are amazing. Many Bible quotations and allusions are woven throughout the letters, along with illustrations of how life in Egypt reminded Mary of those passages. You will gain a better cultural understanding of Scripture as you read through Letters from Egypt.

Download a free sample and enjoy the first few chapters. Letters from Egypt will touch your mind, your imagination, and your heart.