Imagine galloping into Egypt as the sun rises, or finding a messenger from the ancient world among the shadows of a crumbling temple, or sliding up and down the tilting deck of a ship. Bess, the shy, self-conscious heroine of Bess and the Sphinx, takes the reader along on these adventures and more with the sweet openness of a very dear friend. The story is reconstructed from the childhood memories of the author, Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth. Bernice Lowenstein‘s old-fashioned illustrations perfectly complement the enchanted atmosphere the book creates.

On the dust jacket of the 1967 edition, Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth is quoted as saying, “If I were a tree, Bess would be the heartwood.” Magical stories like Bess and the Sphinx can help any child grow a heartwood that is both tender and strong.

Recommended for readers nine and up.