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410 reviews for:
The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt
Kara Cooney
3.71 AVERAGE
410 reviews for:
The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt
Kara Cooney
3.71 AVERAGE
Really well researched and written. I enjoyed learning more about what life might have been like for Hatshepsut and possible scenarios that may have influenced her decisions leading to taking the throne and after. It also gave a better idea of what Thutmose III's motivations may have been to erase Hatshepsut's name after her death. I didn't know about her daughter Nefrure before reading this book. The little we know about her is fascinating!
My only complaint was the amount of times the reader is reminded of the limited information we can gather from Egyptian texts. But even that wasn't a big deal.
My only complaint was the amount of times the reader is reminded of the limited information we can gather from Egyptian texts. But even that wasn't a big deal.
3.5/5. Very interesting woman and peek into the past, but the writing is unremarkable. It's serviceable, but without craft. I do appreciate that Cooney offers many possibilities for everything, from the various years a figure is theorized to have died, to the various ways Cooney personally theorizes a figure might have felt at an important moment in their life. However, if I hadn't been warned about all the qualifying "perhaps"s, "might"s, and "possibly"s, I may well have found it comical or annoying.
Anyway, for the content, this is a worthy read I'd recommend to anyone. I have been convinced Hatshepsut is singular and worthy of memorializing. I'd happily read another, more artfully-written, biography about her, should it be published.
Anyway, for the content, this is a worthy read I'd recommend to anyone. I have been convinced Hatshepsut is singular and worthy of memorializing. I'd happily read another, more artfully-written, biography about her, should it be published.
informative
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
i never enjoyed a non-fiction book so much as this one. Hatshepsut’s contribution to ancient Egypt was inspiring and admirable. the book was written in a style of both historical text and storytelling. i was so hooked from the first chapter through the last, and i’m very grateful to learn about her as a way to understand more in female power, especially in politics and the times where women were not given the same opportunities. following Hatshepsut were many incredible women (in the western world at least). to me, she set an example of how women are competent, and even if men tried to erase us from history, we ultimately leave undeniable evidence when we left.
if the purpose of this book was to discuss the rule of Hatshepsut it failed. It talked about her childhood, the people who ruled before her, the people around her, and the people who ruled after her. but very little time was given to her and the things she did. but it did give a lot of interesting insight into ancient egypt.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
I immediately thought "This would make a much better historical fiction novel than non-fiction." I just couldn't get past that. It's really not the book's fault and I'm glad I don't have to read "We can only speculate..." again.
To me, Hatshepsut has always been a fascinating woman. She defied all convention and was able to install herself as King in the highly regimented and conservative society of Ancient Egypt.
Hatshepsut, as the daughter of a Pharaoh, was groomed from birth to be royalty. But her fate was always to be a King’s wife (Egypt did not have queens), and never a ruler in her own right. With the death of her father and her two eldest brothers, Hatshepsut found herself married to her sickly younger brother (in Ancient Egypt, keeping things in the family was taken to horrifying extremes). When their union did not produce a male heir, it seemed as if her father’s dynasty might end after only two generations. Starting as regent to the new infant king (her nephew), Hatshepsut slowly consolidated power around herself, eventually declaring herself co-king, and taking the reins of the ancient world’s most prosperous kingdom.
Early historical research painted Hatshepsut as a conniving, grasping, and devious woman. More recent (and balanced) studies of the Pharoah paint a different picture. Rather than a manipulative Lady Macbeth, Hatshepsut was an intelligent, educated woman who was born with every desired trait necessary to rule Egypt, except of course, the correct genitalia. Cooney paints a vivid account of palace life in Ancient Egypt, and does her best to bring this remarkable woman to life despite the (purposefully) sparse information about her. Cooney has done a remarkable job with this book, using data where she can and inference where she cannot. She is always careful to state what is conjecture and what is not, but at the same time presents the reader with the evidence for her statements.
The Woman Who Would Be King is currently available for purchase.
Hatshepsut, as the daughter of a Pharaoh, was groomed from birth to be royalty. But her fate was always to be a King’s wife (Egypt did not have queens), and never a ruler in her own right. With the death of her father and her two eldest brothers, Hatshepsut found herself married to her sickly younger brother (in Ancient Egypt, keeping things in the family was taken to horrifying extremes). When their union did not produce a male heir, it seemed as if her father’s dynasty might end after only two generations. Starting as regent to the new infant king (her nephew), Hatshepsut slowly consolidated power around herself, eventually declaring herself co-king, and taking the reins of the ancient world’s most prosperous kingdom.
Early historical research painted Hatshepsut as a conniving, grasping, and devious woman. More recent (and balanced) studies of the Pharoah paint a different picture. Rather than a manipulative Lady Macbeth, Hatshepsut was an intelligent, educated woman who was born with every desired trait necessary to rule Egypt, except of course, the correct genitalia. Cooney paints a vivid account of palace life in Ancient Egypt, and does her best to bring this remarkable woman to life despite the (purposefully) sparse information about her. Cooney has done a remarkable job with this book, using data where she can and inference where she cannot. She is always careful to state what is conjecture and what is not, but at the same time presents the reader with the evidence for her statements.
The Woman Who Would Be King is currently available for purchase.
It's quite something, writing a biography about someone who lived in a time we don't know that much about. When I was reading it, I was in doubt between 3 and 4 stars. There is a lot of conjecture in this book, mainly about what Hatshepsut and the people around her must have felt. Sometimes it seemed that 21st century concepts were projected onto her.
However it makes things very vivid and makes this a very easy read , especially when I compare it to some other non-fiction books.
However it makes things very vivid and makes this a very easy read , especially when I compare it to some other non-fiction books.