Lady of the Reeds
by Pauline Gedge
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Description
In ancient Egypt, an intelligent, ambitious woman named Thu, leaves her native village aboard the boat of a prophet and eventually becomes a powerful concubine of Ramses III.Tags
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Member Reviews
Long eons ago, in the days when the Internet was just something called Usenet... before amazon. before paperbackswap. before goodreads... back in Those Days, I made a special trip, while in Canada, to the bookstore. I'm pretty sure it was the World's Biggest Bookstore (yes, that's its name). And I bought every single one of Pauline Gedge's books, and brought them all home with me. Very heavy.
I never really did understand why Gedge is so popular in her home, Canada, and completely unpublicized in the US. Now, of course, you can get any book online - if you know about it - but I fail to see why publishers have seemingly believed that people in the USA are significantly more uninterested in nice, juicy historical fiction about Ancient show more Egypt than their neighbors to the north.
Anyway, this was a re-read. I'd previously read it under the Canadian title, "House of Dreams."
I have to admit, reading it this time, it did feel slightly dated, just in the way characters interacted. I also felt mildly annoyed at having a blue-eyed protagonist (you can't really call her a heroine) in ancient Egypt. Yes, it's explained and all... but post-Memoirs-of-a-Geisha, I guess I just feel differently about it.
But I'm still giving it 5 stars, because I just really enjoy Gedge's writing. She manages just the right balance between historically researched details and vivid speculation; really bringing the era to life.
Lady of the Reeds is based on a known incident of a plot to assassinate Ramses III. However, the concubine Thu is all her creation. Starting out as a commoner, daughter of a foreigner in a small town in Egypt, Thu has always felt she is destined for greater things. Hungry for knowledge and power, she will scheme and plot to feed her ambition. She's a ruthless, and not necessarily likable character, but her story is compelling. show less
I never really did understand why Gedge is so popular in her home, Canada, and completely unpublicized in the US. Now, of course, you can get any book online - if you know about it - but I fail to see why publishers have seemingly believed that people in the USA are significantly more uninterested in nice, juicy historical fiction about Ancient show more Egypt than their neighbors to the north.
Anyway, this was a re-read. I'd previously read it under the Canadian title, "House of Dreams."
I have to admit, reading it this time, it did feel slightly dated, just in the way characters interacted. I also felt mildly annoyed at having a blue-eyed protagonist (you can't really call her a heroine) in ancient Egypt. Yes, it's explained and all... but post-Memoirs-of-a-Geisha, I guess I just feel differently about it.
But I'm still giving it 5 stars, because I just really enjoy Gedge's writing. She manages just the right balance between historically researched details and vivid speculation; really bringing the era to life.
Lady of the Reeds is based on a known incident of a plot to assassinate Ramses III. However, the concubine Thu is all her creation. Starting out as a commoner, daughter of a foreigner in a small town in Egypt, Thu has always felt she is destined for greater things. Hungry for knowledge and power, she will scheme and plot to feed her ambition. She's a ruthless, and not necessarily likable character, but her story is compelling. show less
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Best historical fiction set in the ancient world
126 works; 40 members
Author Information
31+ Works 3,724 Members
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Lady of the Reeds
- Original title
- Child of the morning
- Original publication date
- 1977
- People/Characters
- Hatshepsut; Senenmut
- Important places*
- Ägypten
- Important events
- New Kingdom of Egypt; Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
- Dedication*
- Für meine Mutter Airini und meinen Vater Lloyd
- First words*
- Sie zog sich früh in ihre Gemächer zurück; sie gab ihrer Sklavin ein Zeichen und entfernte sich fast unbemerkt aus der Halle, während auf den kleinen vergoldeten Tischen noch die Speisen dampften und der Duft der Blumen, ... (show all)die überall verstreut waren, sie in einer unsichtbaren Wolke durch den Säulengang begleitete.
- Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Er blieb sitzen und presste ihre erkaltete Hand an sein Gesicht, während die letzten Strahlen des leuchtenden Gewands ihres göttlichen Vaters die Juwelen an ihren Füssen aufblitzen liessen.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 813.54 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PR9199.3 .G415 .H68 — Language and Literature English English Literature English literature: Provincial, local, etc.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 119
- Popularity
- 273,690
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.31)
- Languages
- 5 — Catalan, English, French, German, Spanish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 4
