The Collector's Daughter by Gill Paul (audiobook)

 genre: historical fiction

The real Evelyn Herbert grew up in the luxury that is Highclere Castle, the location for the modern tv series Downton Abbey.  As the daughter of the Earl of Carnarvon, she spent much of her young adulthood in the company of her father and his friend the archeologist Howard Carter, whom he is funding in his quest for Tutankhamun's tomb.  When she is only in her early 20s, the Egypt-obsessed Evelyn is present when King Tut's tomb is open - and thus changes the trajectory of her life.

This IS the story of Evelyn's life, told in two time periods - the early 1920s/30s as Evelyn falls in love, explores in Egypt and learns how to behave in society.  The other part of the narrative takes place during the 1970s as Eve is recovering from a medical event and a stranger comes to her with questions.  The Collector's Daughter is a novel of treasure and consequences, it's about the power of memory and the ebb and flow of a marriage.  It's about wealth and the ethics of antiquities collecting.  I found myself intrigued by the plot and interested in where it took me.  I kept wanting to look things up, to see what was true and what was fiction (much is surprisingly true!).  I'd read before about "Tutankhamun's curse" and I appreciated that this book delved into it without ever really veering into paranormal.   I enjoyed it.