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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a very good historical novel, 24 Jun 1998
By A Customer
Queen Tiye, the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoah Amunhotep III is the focus of this very complex historical novel. Pauline Gedge gives a new interpretation of some of the known historical and archaelogical facts about the entire Amarna Royal Family including Akhenaton, Nefertiti, Smenhkara, Ay,Tutanhamon and Horemheb. Her portrayals of Queens' Tiye and Nefertiti are masterful in showing their struggles to govern and hold on to power for the former and to attain power for the latter. Each were women who had husbands who were Pharaohs, but had other agendas which were to the detriment of Egypt. However, these women wanted power and to govern. Gedge's new spin sees Tiye and Nefertiti as rivals with Ay and Horemheb forming a quadrangle of deadly machinations, murder and political intrigue which resulted from Akhenaten's religious revolution during the Eighteenth Dynasty.Ancient Egyptian buffs will be intrigued by Gedge's use of known facts and figures and the weaving of these into a fascinating portrait of an Egyptian Queen fighting the decline of her empire. The rich historical details and the incorporation of stories, myths and facts about the opulent lifestyles,descriptions of palaces and of the cities of Karnak, Akhetaten shows Miss Gedge's thorough knowledge of or research of the period. Unfortunately this is also a handicap, because the need to weave facts and create fiction to make a workable story had me questioning certain elements crucial to the story. An example would be Nefertiti's desire to becoming a Great Royal Wife This is known to have been attained; however, she did not wear the disk and two-feathers crown which Tiye wore, wearing her own distintive Blue Crown. Although, this crown was known previously or used later, Nefertiti was a Great Royal Wife. In the story her pursuit of this Rank and The Two Feather Disk Crown of Tiye was a crucial dramatic element which formed the basis of a number of her misdeeds. Another example was the diminution of the role of Kia(Kiya)one of Akhena! ten's secondary wives who many believe may be Tutankhamun's mother or at best was a "Favorite" such that wine jars were found at Amarna with this inscription. A greater role was given to Sitamun, daughter-wife of Amunhotep III and Tiye. The rivalry between she and Nefertiti was quite interesting. Another interesting character was Mutnodjme, sister of Nefertiti and wife to Horemheb. Gedge even had the vicissitudes of Tiye as working mother. The best feature of the novel is the atmosphere and descriptions of this historical period which were so vivid and seemly accurate that you felt you were in that time period. Having read Lady of the Reeds, Miss Gedge is a master of this type of writing and her ability to weave the archaelogical and historical evidence with mythological and religious elements is excellent.
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