Writing about icons is a difficult business. Even biographers of modern stars like Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley must wade through a morass of secrets, theories and fantasies. How much more difficult to choose a subject who lived 3,500 years ago, who emerged from nowhere, disappeared back into obscurity, and whose brief, glittering existence has been the subject of fierce iconoclasm! Thanks to the glorious portrait bust in Berlin (see below), Nefertiti is one of the most recognisable figures from Ancient Egypt, but the facts of her life remain tantalisingly elusive. As Joyce Tyldesley teases out the meaning of symbols, inscriptions and sculpted reliefs, Nefertiti’s lost world blossoms into life, in an archaeological story that reads like a detective novel. This is a tale of religious revolution, intrigue, iconoclasm, romance, and mysterious, powerful women. What’s not to like?

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2019/01/05/nefertiti-joyce-tyldesley/ ( )

This is a good account the royal family's life in Armana - as the author admits herself, there is simply not enough known facts about Nefertiti to call it a biography, therefore the book is mainly about the things we don't know. Given that this is one of the most famous and instantly recognizable women of all time it is strange to see that we know virtually nothing about her. This is the revised edition with some new insights, but we still only get a glimpse of the Egyptian queen. ( )

Okay, but didn't set me on fire ( )

A conservative viewpoint of the Amarna period of Egyptian history, discusses all the controversial theories about Nefertiti and her infamous husband, Akhenaton. ( )