Summary
Summary of The Hawk of Egypt
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Damaris follows her own wishes
Damaris Hethencourt enters Cairo’s bazaar with her bulldog Wellington, looking for the animal market. She is warm, impulsive and confident, unaware of the attention her red hair and unveiled face attract. Among those watching is Zulannah, a famous courtesan.
Damaris loves animals and has little interest in men. Yet her freedom already carries a risk: she walks alone through a quarter where the narrator warns she should not be alone. Her confidence is both her charm and a source of danger.
Key idea 2
A fight brings strangers together
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Key idea 3
Two suitors carry different burdens
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Key idea 4
Damaris must learn about love
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Key idea 5
Protection and cruelty grow together
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Key idea 6
Hugh confesses love but refuses marriage
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Key idea 7
Fear and hatred surround the lovers
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Key idea 8
Wounded pride sends Damaris into danger
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Key idea 9
Love reveals itself through giving
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
Readers who love desert romance, horses and hawks, ruined temples by moonlight, and warm comic touches such as a foul-mouthed parrot and a fiercely loyal bulldog. It suits anyone who enjoys a story of love across two cultures.
What this book is
The Hawk of Egypt is a romance by Joan Conquest, set in Cairo, Luxor and the western desert in the years after the Great War. It follows Damaris Hethencourt, a red-haired English girl of seventeen who arrives in Egypt with her bulldog Wellington, and Hugh Carden Ali, the son of an Arab sheikh and an English mother. The author fills the book with bazaars, falcons, ruined temples and nights under a full moon, and she speaks to the reader in a lively voice of her own.
The book gives you a love story with real stakes. Damaris has a loyal suitor in Ben Kelham. Hugh has a wound from England that keeps him from asking any woman to marry him. Around them stand a wise old duchess, a mother who fears for her son, and a courtesan who plots in the shadows of the Arab quarter. You will meet Hugh's tents of purple and gold, a white mare of famous blood, and a parrot with a sailor's tongue.
Here is what the story offers: a clash of two worlds, a test of loyalty between old school friends, and a question about what love is willing to give up. Let us begin where the girl does, in the silk market of Cairo.
In this summary
- 1A girl and her bulldog in CairoFree
- 2A fight that brings two strangers together
- 3A duchess, a suitor and a wounded man
- 4The fortune-teller at the fancy dress ball
- 5Dawn rides and a courtesan's hatred
- 6The duchess decides to go to Jill
- 7Ruins, drums and a prisoner's confession
- 8A courtesan's revenge and a mother's fear
- 9Gossip, a note and a ride to the tents
- 10Two friends, a lion and a vigil
Key point 1 of 10
A girl and her bulldog in Cairo
The story opens at sunset in the Khan el-Khalili, the great bazaar of Cairo. The call to prayer rolls over the rooftops. Damaris Hethencourt, two weeks short of eighteen, stands unveiled among kneeling men. At her heels walks Wellington, her huge and very ugly bulldog.
Her hair is a vivid red, her eyes so dark they look black, and she has no idea of the stir she causes. Women peer at her from behind carved wooden lattices. Zulannah, the most famous courtesan in northern Egypt, watches her from a balcony. The author tells us plainly that a girl like this should not walk alone in the old quarter, but that Fate has laid out the path.
Damaris is looking for the corner where animals are sold, anything from a camel to a falcon. She is a lover of animals first and a lover of men not at all. She speaks pretty broken Arabic and thanks the silk seller with a smile that wins him at once.
This opening scene sets the tone of the whole book. The bazaar is described through colour, noise and smell, with a narrator who keeps stepping in to talk to you. Damaris is drawn as warm, impulsive and sure of herself, which will be both her charm and her danger.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
Why does Hugh initially refuse to ask Damaris to marry him?
Right. “He tells her that he loves her, and that he cannot ask her to marry him because of his mixed blood.”Not quite. “He tells her that he loves her, and that he cannot ask her to marry him because of his mixed blood.”
What does Zulannah hope to achieve by luring Damaris to her home?
Right. “Her plan is to lure Damaris to her home so that Ben will reject her.”Not quite. “Her plan is to lure Damaris to her home so that Ben will reject her.”
What belief does Ben express when speaking to Hugh at the tents?
Right. “Ben says he would, because there is nothing to forgive in love.”Not quite. “Ben says he would, because there is nothing to forgive in love.”
Questions about The Hawk of Egypt
What is The Hawk of Egypt about?
It is a romance about Damaris Hethencourt, a young Englishwoman in Egypt, and Hugh Carden Ali, the son of an Arab sheikh and an English mother. Their love meets questions of race, honour and loyalty to a close friend.
Why is Hugh Carden Ali called the Hawk of Egypt?
He is a master falconer who has the emblem of the ancient hawk worked on his clothes, saddlecloths and hounds. He also owns a jewelled hawk found in a temple, and the title fits his mixed nature.
What are the Tents of Purple and Gold?
They are three tents Hugh has pitched in the desert, hung inside with purple and orange satin and a third lined with painted emblems and patterned panels. They are his retreat in the desert, where he also welcomes passing travellers. Only Hugh himself enters the middle tent, the Tent of Death.
Who is the Duchess of Longacres?
She is Damaris's elderly godmother, a sharp, kind woman who smokes, wears a golden wig and travels with a talking grey parrot. She tries to guide her goddaughter and Ben Kelham toward happiness.
Is The Hawk of Egypt easy to follow?
Yes, the story moves from scene to scene with clear characters, vivid places and a humorous narrator. Short chapters, quick action and a lively cast of animals and servants help the reader along.
