Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 932.014092 EAN: 9780140244649 ISBN: 0140244646 Label: Penguin (Non-Classics) Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics) Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 304 Publication Date: 1998-07-01 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Editorial Reviews: 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 image were viciously attacked, her monuments destroyed or usurped, her place in history systematically obliterated. At last, in this dazzling work of archaeological and historical sleuthing, Joyce Tyldesley rescues this intriguing figure from more than two thousand years of oblivion and finally restores the female pharaoh to her rightful prominence as the first woman in recorded history to rule a nation.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Good overview Comment: A good book, although the author seems to be more interested in discussing the various ideas and conceptions involving Hatchepsut than in the reign of the female king herself. If you are not already a student of Pharoanic Egypt then this is not a good book to jump into, despite the chapters which outline Egyptian history in general and the 18th Dynasty specifically. Tyldesley does not buy into various conspiracy theories involving the reign of this female king but instead discusses the mindset of the historians and archeologists and how their attitudes resulted in many modern concepts. An interesting book. Customer Rating: Summary: Insightful portrait of the world's first truly powerful woman Comment: Joyce Tyldesley provides us with a thorough examination of the evidence surrounding the pharaoh Hatchepsut. She discusses issues such as the disputed order of succession, the conspicuous over-use of propaganda by Hatchepsut to legitimize her power and the question of exactly who attempted to erase the name of Hatchepsut from the monuments and why. Her arguments in each case are based on a judicious weighing of the evidence and the reader is always provided with alternative interpretations from other scholars. Tyldesley systematically dismantles the prevalent opinion that many of the actions of both Hatchepsut herself and her stepson Tuthmosis were motivated by a deadly enmity. On this issue she suggests that Tuthmosis was relatively accepting of the co-regency his stepmother imposed on him, but fails to suggest a convincing motivation for this. The one real disappointment in the book is that Tyldesley does not provide us with any real suggestion as to how Hatchepsut was able to succeed in establishing herself as pharaoh. She emphasizes that Hatchepsut would have needed both an acceptable reason and widespread support among the powerful men of the kingdom to be able to go against maat (the Egyptian concept of tradition and balance) and establish herself as king, but does not provide us with a plausible suggestion as to what such a reason may have been or whose support may have been responsible for her success. Admittedly, there are unlikely to be definitive answers, but these questions are barely raised. All in all, the book is an intriguing and insightful portrait of the world's first truly powerful woman. Customer Rating: Summary: Intriguing Historical Biography Comment: With a use of the historical and archaeological evidence from various places in Egypt and beyond, an Oxford-educated Joyce Tyldesley has written a well-detailed biography book entitled "Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh." The book, as similar to her Nefertiti: Unlocking the Mystery Surrounding Egypt's Most Famous and Beautiful Queen, drives the general readers to experience and to understand the story of the female Pharaoh named Hatchepsut, her historical family background, the history of her memory after her death, and theories of historical scholars who have studied. There are eight chapters in the book with the addition of the "Introduction," which highlights Hatchepsut as a preferred King of Egypt, addresses a brief history of the Dynasty periods, and introduces Manetho who preserved the memory of Hatchepsut. What came as interesting to which this book explores the relationship between Hatchepsut and her father, Pharaoh Tuthmosis I. There does not appeared to be any negativity between them, and was seen as very positive. Throughout the years of her rule, Hatchepsut honored her father "in every way possible" in order to preserve her direct link to Tuthmosis I as a rightful heir to Egyptian throne (p. 117-8). Since she was born to both Tuthmosis I and Queen Ahmose who were of a royal blood, Hatchepsut believed that she had a direct royal bloodline because her brother-husband, Tuthmosis II, was born to a mother who was not from a royal bloodline. Therefore, she believed that she had a right to rule Egypt regardless of what her gender was. An impression that comes to one's mind from the book is that Hatchepsut needed to rule Egypt in the honor of her father and not for her personal agenda. Tyldesley also pointed out the creation of Hatchepsut's "divine birth" story as well the role of women in the Theban royal family as evidence for Hatchepsut to be a rightful ruler of Egypt. The author holds the readers' interest with a clear writing and vivid understanding when it comes to historical biography and theories. The book is well-organized with the visual aspects of maps, figures, and pictures. She has presented a historical analysis that was not dry or technical, and it should be a good advantage for readers' ancient Egyptian knowledge. Tyldesley's book is recommended to both the general readers and historical scholars because the author brought forth a readable and very interesting book. Customer Rating: Summary: Hatchepsut: The Female Pharoah Comment: The layout of the history leading to the story of Hatchepsut is very informative. I enjoyed knowing what is believed to be the events leading to her acension and the contributions she made during her reign. very interesting reading and well constructed. Customer Rating: Summary: An Easy Good Read Comment: The book is highly readable and certainly interesting in content about the first Pharoanic female "who would be king." The problem with it lies in the evidence or, more accurately, lack thereof. Because there is so very little known about Hatshepsut and her time, writing a book that isn't almost entirely speculative is rather difficult and becomes, by necessity, more of a historical novel than a discussion of historical fact. Redundancy is also unavoidable as the author tries to present the very little information that we have in enough pages to fill a book. All the content could have been condensed quite easily into a chapter rather than a book. Having said that, it IS fun reading, and the lack of evidence certainly allows the reader's imagination to take over and recreate a past that may or may not have existed. Hatshepsut the ruler certainly lived, but much more than that, we just can't know at this time, so that this author's guesses are as good as any other Egyptologists. More Reviews