HATSHEPSUT

by Evelyn Wells ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 1969

Hatshepsut, fabled queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty, was one of the most successful of pre-Ptolemaic Egypt's many able rulers. She completed the work of consolidation of the. New Kingdom begun by her father, Thutmose I, and under her Egypt rose to the zenith of its wealth, power, and glory. Such was her strength that she was king in all but gender; and she strove to correct even the latter omission by appearing publicly with a full beard and breasts tightly bound. Such is the stuff of which legends are made. And, unfortunately, Miss Wells has been unable to resist the temptation. As though there were not ample biographical material available in the ancient Thebean records, she has chosen to romanticize' her subject by larding her material with supposed conversations and putative emotions in such a way that Hatshepsut emerges as from the pages of Edward Bulwer Lytton rather than from those of James Henry Breasted. Even so, the book is not a total failure. The author does a creditable job of describing the customs, religion and aspirations of Egypt in the fifteenth century B.C. and, from that standpoint, Hatshepsut has some value for the general reader.

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION