This volume investigates the political, social, and cultural evolution of Ancient Egypt during the Middle Kingdom and the subsequent Second Intermediate Period. E. A. Wallis Budge, a prominent Egyptologist and curator at the British Museum, utilizes primary source inscriptions, king lists, and archaeological findings to reconstruct the reigns of the Amenemhat dynasty and the impact of the Hyksos occupation. The text provides a chronological framework for understanding the transition from centralized stability to foreign rule and the eventual resurgence of native Egyptian authority.

Experts recognize this work as a classic, foundational text in the field of Egyptology, though they note that modern archaeological discoveries have superseded some of Budge's specific interpretations. Readers frequently highlight the dense, scholarly prose and the author's meticulous attention to primary source documentation.