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Pharaoh (Polish: Faraon) is the fourth and last major novel by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus (1847–1912). Composed over a year's time in 1894–95, it was the sole historical novel by an author who had earlier disapproved of historical novels on the ground that they inevitably distort history.

Pharaoh has been described by Czesław Miłosz as a "novel on... mechanism[s] of state power and, as such, ... probably unique in world literature of the nineteenth century.... Prus, [in] selecting the reign of 'Pharaoh Ramses XIII' in the eleventh century BCE, sought a perspective that was detached from... pressures of [topicality] and censorship. Through his analysis of the dynamics of an ancient Egyptian society, he... suggest[s] an archetype of the struggle for power that goes on within any state."

This is a reprint of Jeremiah Curtin's 1902 translation of Boleslaw Prus's 1895 Polish-language historical novel "Pharaoh."

The book was retitled in the 1902 English translation to "The Pharaoh and the Priest" apparently due to the author's wish to highlight the important role, in his novel, of "the priest" Pentuer, named after a historic figure who appears in some Egyptological sources as "Pentaur."

"Pharaoh" was Prus's sole historical novel, and it is one that amply repays reading for what it has to say about statecraft, Egyptian history and culture, and the human condition. Its continuing interest is attested by translations into 20 languages and by a 1966 Polish film adaptation. The most recent English translation appeared in 2001, a century after the Curtin translation.

The Curtin-translation reprint, reviewed here, does not adequately represent the novel. It is, to begin with, missing the stunning Epilog, which was restored half a century after the original publication of Curtin's translation. More importantly, Curtin showed an abysmal understanding of the Polish language, a poor grasp of English style, and a primitive knowledge of the book's subject matter.