Cracking the Egyptian Code is the first biography in English of Jean-François Champollion, the impoverished, arrogant and brilliant child of the French Revolution who made the vital breakthrough in deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphs. This finely illustrated account charts Champollion’s dramatic life and achievements: by turns a teenage professor, a supporter of Napoleon, an exile, a fanatical decipherer and a curator at the Louvre, he lived life to the full but drove himself into an early grave. Andrew Robinson’s full-blooded account brings the man, his setbacks and his ultimate triumphs vividly to life.Table of ContentsPrologue: Egyptomania • 1. Hieroglyphic ‘Delirium’ before Champollion • 2. A RevolutionaryChildhood • 3. Reluctant Schoolboy • 4. Egypt Encountered • 5. Paris and the Rosetta Stone6. Teenage Professor • 7. The Race Begins • 8. Napoleon and Champollion • 9. Exile andRevolt • 10. Breakthrough • 11. An Egyptian Renaissance • 12. Curator at the Louvre13. To Egypt, At Last • 14. In Search of Ramesses • 15. First Professor of Egyptology16. The Hieroglyphs after Champollion • Postscript: Geniuses and Polymaths