A Historical Egyptian Fairy Tale

Merry December to all, and to all a happy blog post!

Even though we are covered in snow, I read a book this week that dealt with Egypt, the Nile, and a complete lack of snow. Funny how different the climates are. But, the book was called Sphinx’s Princess, and it was a historical fiction novel about Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. The book opens with Nefertiti as a young girl, and this first installment follows her to her mid-teen years. The second installment, Sphinx’s Queen, came out this year. New young adult books cross my desk before we shelve them, and Sphinx’s Queen caught my eye. Instead of starting with that book, I figured I’d backtrack to the first one.

Nefertiti is the eldest daughter of Pharaoh’s chief investigator, and she leads a normal nobleman’s daughter’s life. Even though her mother died in childbirth, she has had a loving father and a caring nurse, who get married near the beginning of the book. Meanwhile, Nefertiti has no recollection of her mother, and has never met her mother’s sister, High Queen Tiye. Nefertiti’s father might be a chief investigator, but her aunt is the Queen of Egypt! Queen Tiye has a good looking, powerful son named Thutmose, and he is next in line to the throne. That is if any of Pharaoh’s junior wives don’t steal his affection for their own sons. In a ploy to seal the throne, Queen Tiye tries to force Nefertiti into marrying Thutmose, as Pharaoh loves a beautiful woman, and Nefertiti is gorgeous.

Even though I wasn’t expecting historical fiction when I picked up the book, I really enjoyed it. The name Nefertiti sounded really familiar, and I finally looked on Wikipedia to figure out who she was. She and her husband radically changed the face of ancient Egypt by claiming that there was only one god instead of the many gods that had been the Egyptian religion for years. Knowing who she would ultimately become helped me understand the drive and charisma that Nefertiti possesses in the book. Even though it is historical fiction, the “wicked stepmother” (technically aunt), and the beauty being launched into political intrigue read a lot like a fairy tale. But, who doesn’t love a good princess story?