Emma Andrews's diary is valuable on two scores. First, at its best, it provides a literate and often detailed record of an adventurous American woman traveling in fin de siecle Egypt and (to a lesser degree) Italy and her encounters with life in the colonial British settlements along the Nile. Prone to discussions of local color, local squalor, and of the high life among the colonial gentry, Andrews's fascination with the country blends with her descriptions of hobnobbery with the scientific and cultural elite in a revealing manner.

Second, although Andrews often spent more time on Davis's dahabiyeh (houseboat), the Bedawin, than on shore, her diary does provide some important details on the appearance of tombs in the Valley of the Kings as they were first unearthed, including the KV55 site as it was first opened in January 1907. Andrews embelishes her brief description of KV55 with a rough sketch of the interior, and throughout, she makes interesting references to other Egyptologists with whom she came in contact during her tours. As a key to the chronology of events and impression of the appearance of the sites and personalities involved, it remains a valuable resource.

The original diary from which this transcript was made is held at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.