A friend came to stay and left a trio of books by Michelle Moran, not a writer I had heard of before, but they looked promising enough from the covers. When I logged the books into my Librarything account, I saw that books linked with this series included many by Philippa Gregory, an author I do reading enjoy very much.
After spending a frustrating 48 hours in Porto because of the ash cloud, I ended up reading the last book Cleopatra's Daughter: A Novel (chronologically) first, but as each books stands alone, this didn't impede my understanding or enjoyment of the book. We have all heard of the legendary Cleopatra and her equally famous husbands, Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony, but I must admit I knew nothing about her family. A family gifted in tongues, not just Greek, but Latin as well, a family of diplomats. This is not a biography, and the story that has been laid over the historical backdrop works well, but this doesn't mean the book is lacking in historical detail. I also appreciated the strength of Cleopatra Selene, and she is a good pair of eyes through which to see Octavian's Rome. A useful addition to the book is the dramatis personae at the front of the book, with so many marriages, half siblings and name changes, this really saved me from confusion.
I then went back to the start and read Nefertiti: A Novel, as though the books stand alone, I had been warned that it helped with some of the historical references. Who hasn't seen the bust of Nefertiti, but what about the woman? This book tells of her rise from queen's niece to the throne, a seemingly singular, ambitious woman, able to dominate a willful and , as some called him, heretic pharoah. The narrator is her sister, Mutnodjmet, a very different girl, calm, gifted in her use of medicinal herbs. Egypt is on the cusp of chaos as the young pharaoh and his wife break with worshipping the old gods and put Aten above all of them. As with Cleopatra's Daughter, the period detail is great, it really evokes the time period. As sister to the Pharaoh's wife, Mutnodjmet is in a unique position to observe the machinations of the court, some times too close as her own life is put at risk.
One more to go, The Heretic Queen: A Novel, which did make more sense after reading Nefertiti as it talks of her neice. Once again, we are observing a young Pharaoh taking his throne, but this time it is through the eyes of the girl who will become his queen. I enjoyed reading the book, as with the others, the detail is very vivid, but I wasn't quite as drawn into this one. Moran did show us another part of Egyptian life, that of a trainee priestess, which I found fascinating, but while I am all for a strong female lead character, her Pharaoh, once again, was like a petulant child.
I would recommend the book, and the series, as they are well written and have great detail.
Labels: 1010 Challenge, Egypt
