Wilkinson, a fellow of Clare College and author of other books on ancient Egypt, said some of the texts had not been translated for the best part of 100 years. “The English in which they are rendered—assuming they are in English—is very old-fashioned and impenetrable, and actually makes ancient Egypt seem an even more remote society,” he said.

In translating them, he said, he was struck by human emotions to which people could relate today.

The literary fiction includes The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor, a story of triumph over adversity that Wilkinson describes as “a miniature masterpiece.” It is about a magical island ruled by a giant snake—his body “fashioned in gold, his eyebrows in real lapis lazuli”—who shares his own tragedy in encouraging a shipwrecked sailor to face his predicament.

“I was here with my brothers and my children…we totalled 75 snakes…Then a star fell and they were consumed in flames…If you are brave and your heart is strong, you will embrace your children, you will kiss your wife and you will see your house,” it reads.