Taking readers from the hushed lecture rooms of the Institut de France to the windswept monuments of the Valley of the Kings, The Riddle of the Rosetta reveals the untold story behind one of the nineteenth century's most thrilling discoveries. "The Riddle of the Rosetta is a towering achievement in its minute, subtle, and lucid reconstruction of the decipherment of the hieroglyphics, and it will undoubtedly remain an indispensable reference for the history of Egyptian studies in the foreseeable future."---Henning Trüper, Journal of Modern History