Daughter of Egypt
A Novel
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- £10.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER
INSTANT INDIE BESTSELLER
Known for her “delightful blend of historical fiction and suspense” (People), New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict, returns with a sweeping tale of a young woman who unearths the truth about a forgotten Pharaoh—rewriting both of their legacies forever.
In the 1920s, archeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle made headlines around the world with the discovery of the treasure-filled tomb of the boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun. But behind it all stood Lady Evelyn Herbert—daughter of Lord Carnarvon—whose daring spirit and relentless curiosity made the momentous find possible.
Nearly 3,000 years earlier, another woman defied the expectations of her time: Hatshepsut, Egypt’s lost pharaoh. Her reign was bold, visionary—and nearly erased from history.
When Evelyn becomes obsessed with finding Hatshepsut’s secret tomb, she risks everything to uncover the truth about her reign and keep valued artifacts in Egypt, their rightful home. But as danger closes in and political tensions rise, she must make an impossible choice: protect her father’s legacy—or forge her own.
Propelled by high adventure and deadly intrigue, Daughter of Egypt is the story of two ambitious women who lived centuries apart. Both were forced to hide who they were during their lifetimes, yet ultimately changed history forever.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Benedict's immersive latest (after The Queens of Crime) weaves the stories of an ancient Egyptian ruler and the Englishwoman obsessed with finding her tomb. In 1919, George Herbert, also known as Lord Carnarvon, and Egyptologist Howard Carter resume their excavation of Egypt's Valley of the Kings, which they'd begun in 1907 and put on hold during WWI. Carnarvon's 18-year-old daughter, Eve, resists her mother's insistence that she focus on marrying well and instead learns Egyptian history and archaeology from Carter, who supports her desire to discover traces of Hatshepsut, one of Egypt's few female pharaohs. Eve joins the excavation team in 1920, but Carnarvon calls a halt to their work when they've failed to turn up anything significant by 1922. Eve persuades him to invest in one more digging season, which, though it yields no sign of Hatshepsut, discovers Tutankhamun's tomb. A parallel narrative opens in 1486 BC with Hatshepsut as a young princess. In 1479, after Hatshepsut's husband dies, she fears for the kingdom's stability and defies tradition by adopting a male pharaoh's garb and powers. Hatshepsut's narration feels a bit stiff ("I tell myself to be grateful for the power I have—most women have none"), but Benedict evokes the excitement of archaeology in colonial Egypt with an abundance of lush details. There's plenty to enjoy in this story of two women defying expectations.
