The Cat of Bubastes

The Cat of Bubastes is G. A. Henty's adventure novel set in ancient Egypt, using temples, priests, captives, sacred animals, and political danger to introduce young readers to a distant historical world. The plot turns on the religious and social consequences of offending Egyptian custom, while the young characters must navigate fear, loyalty, escape, and unfamiliar power structures.

The book is built in Henty's recognizable style: history is taught through suspense, travel, danger, and youthful resourcefulness. Ancient Egypt becomes more than scenery, shaping the stakes through belief, ritual, law, and hierarchy. Readers interested in historical fiction for young people, ancient Egypt, temple culture, adventure stories, captivity and escape plots, and nineteenth-century educational fiction will find one of Henty's better-known historical settings.