Nefertiti

Since I've been reading Michelle Moran's Nefertiti, I thought I would look and see what other books I might own about this period that could be used as supplemental reading (or browsing). I thought I might create a Thursday Thirteen.  Only I couldn't find enough books on my shelves to make a list!  I knew this was a period I hadn't read much about, but apparently I've also not bought many books about it either.  There is more information on Nefertiti found on Michelle's blog, which will be useful as I finish reading the book.  I especially like seeing what the characters (like the narrator of the story, Nefertiti's sister, Mutnodjmet) looked like.  It's always nice having some sort of visual in mind as I read.

As for the few books I do have: Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt by Joyce Tyldesley -- I bought this ages and ages ago and must have started reading it at some point as I discovered a bookmark in it about a 100 pages in.  It's a survey of what a typical and perhaps not so typical Egyptian woman's life was like in ancient times.  Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber -- This is definitely on my list to read this year.  I'm especially interested in this book on textiles and women's roles in the manufacturing (perhaps not the best word to use when textiles were woven solely by hand) of them.  Uppity Women of Ancient Times by Vicki Leon -- There's a whole series of these books and granted they are on the irreverent side, but they do give just a tiny peek at a variety of women you may or may not have heard of.  What Life Was Like on the Banks of the Nile (Egypt 3050-30BC) -- This is one of those glossy, illustrated Time-Life books, and they're sort of hokey sometimes, but there are lots of nice pictures, like what a pair of sandals looked like or an ancient cosmetic case!

Michelle Moran also suggested Joyce Tyldesley's biography Nefertiti: Unlocking the Mystery Surrounding Egypt's Most Famous and Beautiful Queen as a good resource to learn more about her.  The famous bust of Nefertiti is found in the Alte Museum in Berlin.  Click here to see more representations of Nefertiti and Akhenaton. 

Since I couldn't come up with a list of books about Ancient Egypt (or the ancient world in general), any good reading suggestions?  Fiction or nonfiction.  Now that I've gotten a little taste, I'd like to read more.   

Comments

[Allison D]

Ohh... I love Egyptian history. Aside from Michelle Moran's Nefertiti, which I finished in two sittings, I can recommend these:

NONFICTION
1. The Search for Nefertiti by Joann Fletcher

2. Hatshepsut by Joyce Tyldesley

FICTION
1. Pauline Gedge's Hera series and Lord of the Two Lands series

2. Brad Geagley's Egyptian mystery series (2 books)

3. All of Wilbur Smith's Egyptian books with the exception of his dreadful last book The Quest.

[BooksPlease]

Egyptian history is absolutely fascinating. I've only one book though on this subject and that is The Private Lives of the Pharoahs by Joyce Tyldesley.

[Lezlie]

If you can find "Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs" and "Red Land, Black Land", those are two good nonfiction books by Barbara Mertz, who is the author of the Amelia Peabody Egyptain mysteries under the pen name of Elizabeth Peters.

P.C. Doherty has a mystery series that takes place during the reign of Hatshepsut that's pretty good, and Allison has already mentioned Pauline Gedge. "Child of the Morning" is one of my all-time favorite books.

Judith Tarr had a book called "Pillar of Fire" that centered around the theory that Akhenaten and Moses were the same person. I didn't buy the theory, but story is really, really well done.

And also I agree totally with Allison regarding the Wilbur Smith's Egyptian books. The earlier ones were spellbinding, but skip "The Quest". Bad, bad, bad.

Have a great weekend!
Lezlie

[Heather]

Margaret George has a humongous book about Cleopatra. I've had it for years but have yet to read it. And I was going to mention Wilbur Smith, but I see someone beat me to it!

[Emmy]

Wow. This is a wonderful site! I was googling Egyptian literature (I'm a Ph.D student in Egyptology) and came across your post. From a historian's POV, some of the best fiction I've read on ancient Egypt has been:

* Margaret George's CLEOPATRA: Some criticize it for being too long, but if you can make it past the first chapter and you're still enjoying her writing style, then this is a book you will come to love. George is a master of research, and I can't imagine how long it must take her to write each book.

*Pauline Gedge: Her novel CHILD OF THE MORNING, as others have mentioned, is wonderful. Not as fast-paced as Moran's NEFERTITI, but it's meant to have less dialogue and more reflection. And her careful descriptions of ancient Egypt pull you right in. She has quite a few books out on ancient Egypt, and seems to have made that her specialty.

*Michelle Moran's NEFERTITI: I was surprised to find myself liking this book, since it was marketed as a beach read. What impressed me the most was her use of rarely known historical facts, such as the presence of bubonic plague in ancient Egypt, and small touches she added like a younger daughter receiving a gift which she was actually known to have received over 3,000 years ago. All of this is something others probably don't care too much about, but having just come away from a class on Amarna history, I really enjoyed those small touches.

[Plankje Ongeregeld]

Or how about the Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters? Not exactly highbrow literature of course, but fun reads (especially the first ones in the series). The author has a Ph.D in Egyptology and incorporates a good deal of facts and interesting titbits about ancient Egypt in her books.

[Emmy]

Oh, gosh. Plankje is right! I can't believe I forgot to include Amelia Peabody's mysteries. The author, Elizabeth Peters, has her Ph.D in Egyptology, just as Plankje said, and she is an amazing writer. She writes mysteries which are light, but accurate and full of great characters. I would, however, suggest starting at the beginning of the series. Then you'll have years of reading to catch up on if you like her first book, which I think you will!

[Dorothy W.]

Interesting! I know basically nothing about ancient Egypt, but I bet I'd find those books about the time period interesting, particularly the Daughters of Isis one.

[Danielle]

Allison--Thanks for the suggestions. All the titles are new to me, though I have heard of Wilbur Smith! Michelle Moran's book is definitely a page turner!
Lezlie--The Doherty mystery sounds great--actually they all sound good. Thanks for the ideas! I knew Barbara Michaels was an Egyptologist, but I didn't realize she wrote any NF books.
Heather--I've read Margaret George's book on Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scots--both wonderful. I've contemplated her Cleopatra book, but I've never gotten around to getting it. I think I'd enjoy reading about Cleopatra.
Emmy--Thanks for the nice words. You're the second person I've come across who's an Egyptology Student (check out Random Field Notes on my left sidebar--Ashleigh is also studying in that field). I love it when an author writing historical fiction drops in those sorts of actual details into a novel. It makes the story much more authentic and it's nice to know the author has done their homework! Thanks for the ideas.
Plankje--I've read several of her mysteries--I totally missed her when I was thinking of my list! I enjoy those mysteries as well. Iknew she was an Egyptologist, so even if they are not necessarily highbrow, she does know what she's talking about!
Emmy--I've read the first three or four of her mysteries and did enjoy them. I read a lot of mysteries and tend to go in phases. I need to get back to her books (I wonder if I should go back to the beginning now and start over). I love Amelia Peabody, she's such a great character. Have you read her Vicky Bliss series--she's an art historian!
Dorothy--I really don't know anything about Ancient Egypt either--just the general sort of stuff that everyone knows. I think if I can read the woman's history/perspective I could happily read about any time or place. I've kept out the Tyldesley book--it does look good!

[Ashleigh]

Just checking in, I will think of some books and let you know. Oh and I would stay away from the Joann Fletcher book it is riddled with errors and false information and that book and her subsequent National Geographic special got her banned from working in Egypt.

[Emmy]

Ashliegh: Actually, it was a Discovery Channel special, and Fletcher was banned from working in Egypt because of a dispute with the Head of the Antiquities department whom Michelle mentioned in a previous post. He has quite a reputation (and not in the good way). As Michelle pointed out, the book is controversial, but Fletcher's banishment did not have to do with the facts in her book, just the "discovery" she made and her failure to tell him about it first.

[Emmy]

Oh, and no -- I've never read her Vicky Bliss series. Thank you for the recommendation!

[Danielle]

Ashleigh--I hope you're having a good time in Rhodes (or is it on Rhodes, since its an island?). I'd love to get more reading ideas!
Emmy--Oh, I was wondering what all that controversy was about that Michelle and Catherine mentioned. Unfortunately I'm not at all up on the current events of this type! Now I'll have to google and see if I can find out what happened. I've read a few Vicky Bliss mysteries--they're good, too! I heard there is a new one coming out after ages of Barbara Michaels not writing anything at all in this series!

[tara]

I have the entire series of those Time-Life books! They do have great photos. I hope they will be useful for my daughter in the future, for school and such.

[Danielle]

Tara--I've got several from this series, too. They are nicely illustrated--sometimes I like just browsing through books like that.