NEW! "The Eye of Ra" - OUT NOW!
It all starts with a ring, inlaid with a seemingly insignificant black stone. Discovered on its own by the famous archaeologist Flinders Petrie, the stone had not been recognised for what it was, for up until the fall of Jerusalem in the 6th century BCE it had always been one of a pair.
As a pair, these stones had been used for divination in Biblical times. Together they are known as the Urim and Thummim.
Determined to find the highly valued, lost stone and bring the separated pair together once again, a powerful secret order sends a team of intrepid researchers back in time to the era of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten, only to discover a much greater enigma.
Akhenaten has always tickled people’s imagination; the heretic pharaoh of Egypt, who boldly changed a religious system that had been around for thousands of years. Alas, his courageous attempt to convert his people to monotheism had plunged Egypt into economic disaster and his reign only lasted seventeen years. After Akhenaten’s mysterious disappearance from his Egyptian capital, Akhetaten - the Horizon of Aten - Egypt quickly returned to the much more profitable multi-deity worship and the temporary disturbance in the Egyptian history would literally be hacked out immediately after Akhetaten was deserted and destroyed. Egypt’s disrupted economy and religious system was restored and in a few years’ time, it was as if the heretic pharaoh had never existed. Unfortunately, what has survived for us to study leaves much to be desired. Who was this man? What had made him risk everything for monotheism? In “The Eye of Ra”, Jeanne D’Août throws in a theory that might answer these questions.
Wearing the hedjet crown of upper Egypt, pharaoh Ramses II is better known as Ramses the Great of Egypt. He had immense statues made, depicting himself and once upon a time, two of those large statues stood at the entrance of the Temple of Ptah in Memphis, Egypt. While one of them will be placed at the entrance of the new Egyptian Museum in Cairo in 2015, the other is known as the Colossus of Memphis. In “The Eye of Ra”, this statue, along with his guardian, accidentally ends up in the harbour of a French coastal town named Collioure.
The pyramid of pharaoh Djoser is known as the oldest giant manmade building on earth. Often visited from Cairo on a day trip, the Memphis open-air museum and the vast necropolis of Memphis-Saqqara never ceases to amaze the wandering visitor. Mercilessly tortured by sand-storms, the ruins of what was once the city of the dead are eroding slowly, but yet, after thousands of years, the buildings still stand as silent witnesses to forgotten pasts. Not far from the site is Soongh’s creepy antiques shop, one of the locations in “The Eye of Ra.”
Ancient Egypt has many mysteries and the Egyptian Mystery school teachings were once so immensely popular, that the old Greek philosophers traveled to the Nile to be educated in what they would call ‘The Hermetic Teachings’. Physics and metaphysics were seen as inseparable in an ‘All that is All’ and the’ All that is in the All’. Pythagoras even tried to introduce the fifth element on top of earth, water, air and fire; namely, spirit. Spirit as in the Godflame that has its origin in the spiritual world and which is being transferred through the sun onto all living beings on the earth, creating life. For scientists, ‘holism’ will soon be impossible to ignore. In “The Eye of Ra”, the early years of the Egyptian Mystery school and its basic teachings are explored, as some of the book’s main characters journey back to the time of Akhenaten, in search of a precious relic that was once called: "The Eye of Ra".
In total contrast to the dry, hot, desert sand of Egypt, the Channel Islands are small pieces of paradise, located just off the Atlantic coast of France. Its Mediterranean-like climate and mixed British and French culture forms the background for the location of another main character of the book; time traveller Danielle. As Danielle had returned pregnant from her last mission to ancient Judea [read: White Lie by Jeanne D’Août], she is in constant danger and kept in a safe house in a secret location on the idyllic island of Guernsey. Until one day she is found.
Attempting to escape, Danielle travels to Sark, one of the smaller islands off the Atlantic coast of France. As small as it is, the island is quite independent with its own UN country code. The biggest town on the island is called ‘The Village’ and the Lord of Sark - the ‘Seigneur’ - runs his island from his fairy-tale manor house called the’ Seigneurie’, which is an important location in “The Eye of Ra”. Sark is one of the few places on earth where cars are banned. It is a small miracle that places like this still exist in the western world.
Everything is small on Sark and the island's prison is even known as the smallest official prison in the world, but whether the bad guys in the story of “The Eye of Ra” actually end up here is no promise, for many things are about to go wrong. As the entire mission to ancient Akhetaten and the safe house mission on the Channel Islands had originally been organised by the chief of the company, his sudden illness now jeopardises the lives of all those involved and he has no choice but to let his insecure assistant take over.
Meanwhile, the time travellers have returned from ancient Egypt and need to get away from Egypt without delay. The strategic location of the Island of Cyprus has always had its advantages. Inhabited from Neolithic times, the island had been populated by most of the power civilisations of history, including the Egyptians, Jews, Greeks and Romans. Having been used as a jumping board for the crusades in the Middle Ages, in “The Eye of Ra” the island is used as a jumping board between Egypt and France to smuggle their precious relic to Europe.
Experiencing the sweet mix of a holiday-like environment, ancient history and the anticipation of a sea voyage across the Mediterranean, the team makes its way from the island’s centre to the coast at Paphos Bay, where lead character Otto Adler, formerly known as Otto Rahn, along with his boyfriend Arthur and Egyptian guide Hadi, board a clipper named ‘Laurin’, hoping that this ship would be able to finally take them to safety.
Little did they know that they were still in great danger.
What other authors say about "The Eye of Ra"
“In The Eye of Ra, Jeanne D'Août cleverly uses fiction to bring alive ancient Egypt and its magic. A most entertaining and fun book to read!”
Robert Bauval, author of The Orion Mystery
“A real page-turner, great plot, fast moving and a fun read!”
Tim Wallace-Murphy, Writer, TV Personality & Lecturer
“The Eye of Ra is a brilliant new esoteric thriller that captivates the reader from the start. Intelligent, well-informed and absorbing, it propels you on a dangerous quest to Akhenaten’s Egypt. If you are a fan of Dan Brown or Umberto Eco, then strap yourself in for a wild ride through ancient lands, intrigue and Egyptian magic. I highly recommend it.”
Andrew Gough, presenter of historical documentaries and Editor-in-Chief of the Heretic Magazine
About the author
Jeanne D'Août is a writer, historical researcher, tour guide and producer. For 40 years she has been researching the hidden history of mankind and its religious and cultural path. Ever since she was a child, she has enjoyed discovering hidden mysteries, while visiting many countries including Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel and Egypt. The biggest mystery, however, was discovered when she moved from the country of her birth (The Netherlands) to a region known as Occitania (southern France). As a tour guide she was able to explore the area and its many secrets to her heart's content and in 2008 she decided to start writing a thriller book to share her findings. Her first book, "White Lie", was first published in 2011.
Jeanne had discovered that some of her ancestors had actually come from Occitania and while investigating, she found a family seal with a dove, sitting on a branch, while holding a laurel twig in its beak. Apparently, the family had fled the region during a period of violent religious conflicts; a holocaust, better known as the Cathar Crusade. The family moved to the north into Flanders and translated the name Août into the local dialect. To honour her ancestors, Jeanne decided to use a nom de plume based on her ancestral name.
With the release of her second book, "The Eye of Ra", Jeanne takes her readers to ancient Egypt, on a quest to find an ancient relic from the time of Moses and Aaron. Again, adventure mixes with mysticism and hidden knowledge while exploring Egyptian Magic and the ancient Egyptian Mystery School teachings.
Apart from writing, Jeanne also takes groups and individuals on fascinating tours through Occitania, southern France. In the past few years, she had the honour of being the private guide for several VIPs from all around the world.
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