In Sunshine & Shadow tells the remarkable story of the life of world-famous Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen — from a shy and nervous boyhood to a critically-acclaimed career as one of the pre-eminent scholars of the ancient Near East.

The narrative moves from the seaside sunshine of 1930s southern Scotland to the rigours of the Second World War (with the threat from hostile bombers above, and coping with food rationing below). In 1945 the youthful Kenneth first became captivated by the mysteries of ancient Egypt and the Near East, at a time when his parents were seeking post-war employ in a recovering (and more prosperous) England. This infatuation would eventually lead to student enrolment in the then School of Archæology & Oriental Studies at the University of Liverpool (1951), leading to B.A. and Ph.D. degrees, and thereafter to appointments as Lecturer, Reader and finally Professor of Egyptology (1987).

In the summer of 1961, Kenneth’s passion for travel was ignited by an intrepid motor trip in company with Dr W. J. Martin, across Europe, Turkey and the Levant down to ancient Petra, and back. Between 1962 and 1989, he paid fifteen visits to Egypt to acquire material for the seven volumes of Ramesside Inscriptions, his magnum opus. Countless lectures and conferenc- es made further travel possible, including trips across Europe, to the USA and Canada, and out east to Arabia, Japan and Australia. Away from the hustle and bustle of academic life, there was even time for holidays to Morocco, Madeira and the Canary Isles. And it was on one such adventure in Brazil that a casual visit to the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro resulted in the (bilingual) publication of its outstanding, though long-neglected, Egyptian collection.