Mathieu, M. E. What the Egyptians Read 4000 Years Ago (Chto chitali yegiptiane 4000 let tomu nazad), 1936. In Russian.

М. Э. Матье.
Что читали египтяне 4000 лет тому назад.
Ленинград: Государственный Эрмитаж, 1936.
123 с. : ил. ; 17 см. Мягкая издательская обложка. Уменьшенный формат. Тираж 15000 экз.
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M. E. Mathieu.
What the Egyptians Read 4000 Years Ago.
Leningrad: State Hermitage, 1936.
123 pp. : ill. ; 17 cm. Softcover. Small format. Edition of 15,000 copies.

This fascinating popular-science study, written by the eminent Soviet Egyptologist and art historian Militsa Mathieu, offers a rare window into the literary world of the Middle Kingdom. The text provides a deep dive into the internal logic of Ancient Egyptian literature, including the arrangement of didactic tales, adventurous narratives like "The Story of Sinuhe," and early lyrical poetry. Published by the State Hermitage Museum during a peak of Soviet interest in the archaeology of the Near East, the book was designed to make the complexities of hieroglyphic culture accessible to a wider public while maintaining rigorous academic standards. Mathieu's work remains a vital primary source for the history of education and storytelling, illustrating how the themes of loyalty, exile, and the supernatural in Egyptian texts have influenced world literature for millennia.
The 1936 Hermitage edition is characterized by its portable small format and its inclusion of numerous line drawings and reproductions of papyri, which assist the reader in visualizing the material culture of the 2nd millennium BCE. Militsa Mathieu, who later became a foundational figure in the study of Egyptian art at the Hermitage, brings a unique sensitivity to the aesthetic qualities of the scripts themselves. This book documents the state of pre-war Soviet Oriental studies and remains a prized item for bibliophiles interested in Egyptology and the history of the Hermitage's publishing activities. Its scholarly yet engaging narrative captures the intellectual curiosity of the 1930s, presenting the "dead" scrolls of the past as vibrant, living literature.