Summary
Summary of The Cat of Bubastes
The Cat of Bubastes at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 7 h 35 min6 h fast, 9 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 108,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1889by G. A. Henty
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
A prince loses his protection
Amuba is eager to defend the Rebu against Egypt, but his father warns him that royal birth will not keep him safe. If the king dies, the people may choose an experienced general, and the young prince must not become a rival. Then Egyptian forces cross the marsh, break the Rebu lines and kill the king. Jethro pulls Amuba away, taking an arrow himself. As the city’s defenses give way, Amuba’s future depends less on his rank than on the loyalty of the man beside him.
Key idea 2
Kindness gives captivity a different shape
Taken to Egypt as a slave, Amuba carries his mother’s message that a person can still earn respect in captivity.
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Key idea 3
Honest questions make powerful enemies
Ameres is generous to those who depend on him, but his independence unsettles the other priests.
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Key idea 4
A rescue brings different beliefs together
A journey to inspect waterways takes Ameres, Chebron, Amuba and Jethro beyond their household.
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Key idea 5
An accident becomes a mortal danger
Inside a temple wall, Chebron and Amuba discover how a hidden priest can speak through a giant statue.
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Key idea 6
Many gods conceal one shared belief
Ameres explains that people once gave names to the powers they saw in nature.
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Key idea 7
Loyalty answers fear with action
Jethro’s devotion to Amuba becomes a pattern for the other friendships.
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Key idea 8
Friendship matters more than lost rank
Amuba’s passage from prince to captive changes what he can rely on.
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Who it’s for
You will enjoy this book if you love adventure set in the ancient world, with sieges, hunts, chases and escapes, and if you like learning how people lived and worshiped in Egypt.
What this book is
What happens to a sixteen-year-old prince when his father is killed, his city falls and he is marched to Egypt as a slave? That is where The Cat of Bubastes begins, on the shore of the Caspian Sea, among a fair-haired people called the Rebu. G. A. Henty wrote this story for young readers and set it in the reign of Thotmes the Third.
He drew on the scholars of his day to show Egyptian life in close detail. You see a siege, a banquet, a funeral and a duck hunt where trained cats fetch the birds. You meet a priest with a dangerous secret and a law that punishes the killing of a cat with death. Henty adds that he has not exaggerated that law.
In this summary
- 1A prince loses his protectionFree
- 2Kindness gives captivity a different shape
- 3Honest questions make powerful enemies
- 4A rescue brings different beliefs together
- 5An accident becomes a mortal danger
- 6Many gods conceal one shared belief
- 7Loyalty answers fear with action
- 8Friendship matters more than lost rank
A prince loses his father and his city
The story opens in a crowded, walled city on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. The Rebu who live there are tall, fair and blue-eyed, and they have turned Egypt back four times. Now King Thotmes is marching against them with an army of more than three hundred thousand. Prince Amuba, sixteen, is eager to fight against the invading Egyptians.
The night before the battle, his father speaks to him with great seriousness. If the king falls, the people will want a seasoned general such as Amusis to lead them. Amuba should accept that choice, because an ambitious man can easily remove a boy who looks like a rival. If he is ever in danger, he should travel west and found a new kingdom.
The battle goes as the queen feared. The Egyptians lay brushwood across the marsh and build a causeway under cover of their arrows. Their chariots pour over it, and the Rebu lines break. The king fights at the front and is shot through the eye. Jethro, the king's charioteer, drags the stunned prince away and takes an arrow through his own arm to do it.
The city holds out for a time, yet the Egyptians dig under the wall and seize a gate. Walls matter less than the planning of the people who attack them.
That’s 1 of 8 key points.
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Check yourself
Why do the senior priests distrust Ameres?
Right. “Yet the senior priests distrust him, because he insists on weighing every question for himself.”Not quite. “Yet the senior priests distrust him, because he insists on weighing every question for himself.”
What turns the boys’ hunt into a threat to their lives?
Right. “Amuba's arrow kills the hawk, but Chebron's glances off a twig and kills Paucis.”Not quite. “Amuba's arrow kills the hawk, but Chebron's glances off a twig and kills Paucis.”
How does Amuba show loyalty when Chebron wants to confess?
Right. “When Chebron wants to confess, Amuba insists on sharing the danger, saying either arrow could have struck the twig.”Not quite. “When Chebron wants to confess, Amuba insists on sharing the danger, saying either arrow could have struck the twig.”
Go deeper: the whole of The Cat of Bubastes
About 7 h 50 min to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
Who’s who
- Amuba
- The young Rebu prince taken as a slave to Egypt, who is brave, quick and loyal to his friends.
- Jethro
- Amuba's strong, wise guardian, once the king's charioteer, who gives everything to protect the young people in his care.
- Chebron
- The thoughtful son of Ameres, who loves learning, doubts the temple gods and fears the cost of one shot.
- Ameres
- The high priest of Osiris, a generous scholar who secretly believes in one God and treats slaves as people.
- Mysa
- Ameres's lively daughter, who loves her many pets and refuses to be parted from her brother.
- Ruth
- A steady young Israelite who keeps her grandfather's faith and becomes Mysa's brave companion.
- Ptylus
- A jealous, fanatical priest who wants Ameres's office and will use any means to get it.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 108,500 words
- Reading timeAbout 7 h 35 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about The Cat of Bubastes
What is The Cat of Bubastes about?
It follows Amuba, a Rebu prince captured by Egypt, who becomes a companion to the son of a high priest. A shot meant for a hawk kills a sacred cat, and the friends must face the law and flee.
Is The Cat of Bubastes a true story?
No, it is a novel by G. A. Henty. He set it in the reign of Thotmes the Third and drew on scholars' studies of Egyptian life, though the main characters and plot are invented.
Who is Ameres in The Cat of Bubastes?
Ameres is the high priest of Osiris at Thebes. He is a wise, generous scholar who secretly believes the many gods are symbols of one great God, and he takes in Amuba and Jethro as members of his household.
Why is killing a cat such a serious crime in the book?
In the story's Egypt, cats are sacred, and killing one even by accident is punishable by death. The cat Paucis has also just been chosen as the sacred cat of Bubastes, which makes the offense far more serious.
Is The Cat of Bubastes suitable for young readers?
Yes, it was written for young readers, with a clear plot, lively dialogue and short scenes of hunts, battles and escapes. The author explains Egyptian customs as the story goes, so the setting is easy to follow.
Cite this edition
Henty, G. A. The Cat of Bubastes. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-cat-of-bubastes.
Henty, G. A. (2026). The cat of Bubastes. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-cat-of-bubastes (Original work published 1889)
Henty, G. A. The Cat of Bubastes. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-cat-of-bubastes.
@book{henty2026cat,
author = {Henty, G. A.},
title = {The Cat of Bubastes},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-cat-of-bubastes},
note = {First published 1889}
}
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