Tagged: hatshepsut
Discussion: Your Favourite Historical Figure(s)
This is a topic that comes up frequently amongst historical fiction lovers, but as a lover of historical fiction as well as an extremely amateur historian, I just can’t get enough of it. My question for this week is: Who is/are your favourite historical figure(s)? Why?
Here are some of my favourite historical figures:
- Julius Caesar. His mixture of cunning on the battlefield combined with his impressive political savvy make me really appreciate him as both a man and the legend that he became. When you read about it, his life essentially reads like an epic movie and it’s just plain awesome (aside from the whole violent death part). Having the guts to order around the pirates holding you captive and seemingly always fighting with the smaller force and winning is pretty impressive.
- Hatshepsut. I’ve always had a soft spot for strong female leaders throughout history, and the Iron Lady of Egypt is one of my absolute favourites. She presided over a golden age with minimal military activity and a new resurgence in trade from her Punt expedition. And she did all this in an extremely sexist society where she was never, ever meant to take the throne. The more I read about her, the more I love her.
- Niccolo Machiavelli. This is probably not the most popular choice, but having read The Prince I can’t help but admire his cunning. His political theories ring true throughout history; having a background in Roman history certainly didn’t hurt his credibility. And he presents them in a very concise way without adding in too much fluff like many of his contemporaries.
I could go on and on, but that wouldn’t be fair. Now it’s your turn to answer the question: who is/are your favourite historical figure(s)? Why? How did they come to be your favourite(s)?
The Sekhmet Bed by L. M. Ironside
(Cover picture courtesy of L. M. Ironside’s website.)
Is Ahmose’s divine gift a blessing or a curse?
The second daughter of the Pharaoh, Ahmose has always dreamed of a quiet life as a priestess, serving Egypt’s gods, ministering to the people of the Two Lands. But when the Pharaoh dies without an heir, she is given instead as Great Royal Wife to the new king – a soldier of common birth. For Ahmose is god-chosen, gifted with the ability to read dreams, and it is her connection to the gods which ensures the new Pharaoh his right to rule.
Ahmose’s elder sister Mutnofret has been raised to expect the privileged station of Great Royal Wife; her rage at being displaced cannot be soothed. As Ahmose fights the currents of Egypt’s politics and Mutnofret’s vengeful anger, her youth and inexperience carry her beyond her depth and into the realm of sacrilege.
To right her wrongs and save Egypt from the gods’ wrath, Ahmose must face her most visceral fear: bearing an heir. But the gods of Egypt are exacting, and even her sacrifice may not be enough to restore the Two Lands to safety.
The Sekhmet Bed is the first volume of L. M. Ironside’s series The She-King, a family saga of the Thutmosides, one of ancient Egypt’s most fascinating royal families.
The Sekhmet Bed was actually recommended to me by an editor from another publishing house that I consider a friend. It was free on Amazon for that day so I decided to give it a try, considering that her previous recommendations had worked out very well for me. Thankfully, this one was no different.
It seems more and more people are writing about Hatshepsut these days (hallelujah!) but I’ve never, ever seen anyone write about her mother, Ahmose. And you know what? Ahmose deserves a little recognition too because while she obviously couldn’t match her daughter in some of her achievements she was a strong woman in her own way. Ironside filled in some gaps in the historical record with her own imaginings but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that things didn’t actually happen in a similar fashion.
Ahmose is just a girl when she’s married off to Thutmose, a common general who is chosen as the next Pharaoh because of the lack of male heirs in the family. This makes both of their positions extremely precarious and it’s up to Ahmose to smooth things over in the political sphere. She’s very obviously young and naive when she’s first married but I love how she really comes into her own as she grows older. Ahmose doesn’t have an easy time of it in life but she reacts realistically to a rather bad situation and eventually finds a little bit of happiness.
I wouldn’t say the plot is fast-paced by most standards, but it was very interesting. There’s not as much political intrigue as I would have liked but that’s more of a personal preference than anything else. The religious aspect of the novel was fascinating, though, and I love that Ironside went into such detail about Egyptian religion. It’s quite strange to the modern reader but she manages to explain such things to the reader in a way that makes it easy to understand for people new to ancient Egyptian history as well as fanatics like myself.
Basically, this is just an awesome self-published novel. There were barely any errors and none of them were particularly memorable (just some missed quotation marks and such). Really, this is just a good story with an amazing female lead and great historical accuracy. Where there are changes, they’re completely justified so I can’t even complain about that. The Sekhmet Bed is just a great book and I can’t wait to read more of Ironside’s work.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Daughter of the Gods by Stephanie Thornton
(Cover picture courtesy of Stephanie Thornton’s website.)
Egypt, 1400s BC. The pharaoh’s pampered second daughter, lively, intelligent Hatshepsut, delights in racing her chariot through the marketplace and testing her archery skills in the Nile’s marshlands. But the death of her elder sister, Neferubity, in a gruesome accident arising from Hatshepsut’s games forces her to confront her guilt…and sets her on a profoundly changed course.
Hatshepsut enters a loveless marriage with her half brother, Thut, to secure his claim to the Horus Throne and produce a male heir. But it is another of Thut’s wives, the commoner Aset, who bears him a son, while Hatshepsut develops a searing attraction for his brilliant adviser Senenmut. And when Thut suddenly dies, Hatshepsut becomes de facto ruler, as regent to her two-year-old nephew.
Once, Hatshepsut anticipated being free to live and love as she chose. Now she must put Egypt first. Ever daring, she will lead a vast army and build great temples, but always she will be torn between the demands of leadership and the desires of her heart. And even as she makes her boldest move of all, her enemies will plot her downfall….
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley for the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
There are very few books that literally take my breath away when I finish reading them but Daughter of the Gods is one of them.
One of the things that struck me most about this book was Stephanie Thornton’s amazing writing style. She can do the big dramatic scenes without making them seem forced. She can also slow down and describe things so the reader truly feels like they’re transported back in time. And most importantly of all, she can actually hold the reader’s attention for nearly 500 pages because she slowly builds up tension throughout the novel. It’s not the fastest-paced novel ever but her writing is so compelling that you won’t want to put it down.
Stephanie Thornton’s portrayal of Hatshepsut is pretty much how I imagined the real person. She’s strong and willful but fiercely devoted to her people and preserving the welfare of Egypt even at a cost to herself. Her love for Senenmut develops slowly but once she realizes she loves him she does so with all of her heart. Senenmut himself is also an interesting character, but Hatshepsut tends to steal the scene for most of the novel. Of course she can be stubborn on occasion and her stubbornness costs her dearly sometimes, but that flaw only makes her more human. Hatshepsut is a character even modern readers can relate with despite the huge cultural differences like the fact she marries her half-brother and worships many different gods and goddesses.
We don’t know much about Hatshepsut’s reign because her monuments and writings were destroyed in a systematic campaign to squash the idea that a woman could ever be Pharaoh. But where the facts are known, Stephanie Thornton generally sticks to them and fills in the gaps in our knowledge of her reign with believable events. Even when she does deviate from the historical record (which was rare) she is able to justify it within the context of the story as well as in her historical note. The changes she made were to improve the story and that’s why Daughter of the Gods is now one of my favourite historical fiction novels.
Even if you’re not a huge fan of ancient Egypt, I can’t recommend Daughter of the Gods enough. Stephanie Thornton is able to bring ancient Egypt to life for novices and experts alike. You’ll fall in love with her characters and experience their triumphs and heartaches right alongside them. And you definitely won’t be able to put the book down.
Seriously, just go buy this book.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge
(Cover picture courtesy of Passages to the Past.)
Thirty-five centuries ago the sun had a daughter: Hatshepsut. Youngest daughter of the Pharaoh, she was a lithe and magical child. But when her older sister died, it became her duty to purify the dynasty’s bloodline. She was to wed Thothmes, her father’s illegitimate son, who was heir to the throne. But fearing his son’s incompetence, Hatshepsut’s father came to her with startling news. She was to be Pharaoh, ruler of the greatest empire the world had ever known–provided, of course, that the unprecedented ascension by a woman did not inspire the priests to treason or instill in her half-brother and future consort sufficient hatred to have her put to death.
This is the premise for Child of the Morning, based closely on the historical facts. Hatshepsut assumed the throne at the age of fifteen and ruled brilliantly for more than two decades. Her achievements were immortalized on the walls of her magnificent temple at Deir el-Bahri, built by her architect and lover, Senmut.
Sensuous and evocative, Child of the Morning is the story of one of history’s most remarkable women.
(This summary is from Amazon because my edition does not have a blurb at the back.)
When I first read Child of the Morning, I was enchanted by it. Hatshepsut the tragic, pious she-pharaoh who wanted nothing more than to please Amun spoke to me. Pauline Gedge brought her to life for me and made ancient Egypt so much more accessible. Yet something about her portrayal of Hatshepsut didn’t feel right to me at all. Upon further study of her life, Pauline Gedge’s Hatshepsut does not sit well with me.
Pharaoh Hatshepsut reigned for 20-22 years after the death of her brother-husband Thutmose II. With the help of some great advisors (most notably the enigmatic Senmut), she ruled Egypt justly and kept peace for the better part of two decades, which was no easy feat. Personally, I don’t think Pauline Gedge’s dreamer could have achieved half of what the real Hatshepsut did. But maybe this is just my personal preference mixed with my prejudiced views of history. I do prefer an Iron Lady to an Aida, I must admit.
Other than my disapproval of Hatshepsut’s portrayal, Child of the Morning is excellent light historical fiction. The plot does not speed along, but it is nice and steady. Pauline Gedge has a talent for spellbinding writing and she inserts many authentic details from Egyptian life into her novel.
So what do you think of Hatshepsut? Was she an Iron Lady or a dreamer, as Pauline Gedge portrays her?
I give this book 4/5 stars.