Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh

Ancient Egypt is another passion of mine. I'm thrilled to get a chance to read this book about "His Majesty Herself." Hatchepsut (or "Hats and Shoes" as she was called in a very funny 19th century mystery) was quite a historical figure and character.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and read it at one sitting! It's quite a page turner. I found some of the authors conclusions to be rather quick given the spotty historical record of that time period but there is pleanty of citations and a lengthy bibliography for further reading.

The author's excellent work on the daily life of ancient Egyptian women piqued my interest in her biography of this queen (more usually spelled Hatshepsut) who ruled as a King. I was not disappointed - though it has the hallmarks of a scholarly work, and the narrative flags from time to time, it was overall a quite entertaining story about a woman who was omitted from the Kings List for reasons still unknown. Tyldesley thoroughly debunks the notion that Hatshepsut's younger brother, who ruled after her, wiped her name from her temples and public works in a jealous rage.

Although I learned much about the female King, Hatchepsut, I often found this book to be a little to slow at times. Therefore, it was difficult to maintain my interest in it. Hatchepsut was the daughter of King Tuthmosis I, the sister and wife of Tuthmosis II, and the stepmother and mother-in-law of Tuthmosis III. Because her stepson was young when Tuthmosis II died, she acted as regent for her stepson. She took on the role of King and tried to validate her position by linking herself to the gods. She even went so far as to wear a false beard to make herself resemble a man. She seems to have done a fair job of maintaining her position for some time, but eventually her stepson took over the role of King. For unknown reasons, someone show more tried to erase the memory of her role of King by defacing most of the statues and writing in which she appeared. Joyce Tyldesley pointed out that there were some other women who held the reigns of power in Egypt, but Hatchepsut seems to be the only one of which someone tried to erase her history. Whether that was her stepson or not, seems to be unclear. show less

Egypt's Queen--or, as she would prefer to be remembered, King--Hatchepsut ruled over an age of peace, prosperity, and remarkable architectural achievement (c. 1490 b.c.). Had she been born a man, her reign would almost certainly have been remembered for its stable government, successful trade missions, and the construction of one of the most beautiful structures in the world--the Deir el-Bahri temple at Luxor. After her death, however, her name and...