Skip to main content

Review: Child of the Morning, by Pauline Gedge


Pages: 403

Original date of publication: 1977

My edition: 2010 (Chicago Review Press)

Why I decided to read: recommended to me on Amazon.com

How I acquired my copy: review copy from the publisher, June 2010

I don’t read much historical fiction set in ancient Egypt. I read Judith Tarr’s Pillar of Fire (about Amunhotep); and another one whose name is escaping me at the moment; and Michelle Moran’s books about Nefertiti and Nefertari; but this is the first novel I’ve read about Hatshepsut, Egypt’s female Pharaoh. She ruled Egypt for twenty years, despite the various troubles she faced during her reign—including the threat from her nephew, Tuthmoses III, who later attempted to erase Hatshepsut’s name from the temples and monuments she erected during her lifetime. Nonetheless, Hatshepsut had a long, illustrious career as Pharaoh, not the least of which is because she was assisted by a strong group of advisors.

The novel focuses on the earlier part of Hatshepsut’s life, beginning at around the age of ten, when her sister dies and Tuthmoses I decides that Hatshepsut will follow in his footsteps. Gedge brings Hatshepsut the woman to life in this novel, merging fiction with fact. Her description of the various military campaigns lost me a little bit, but other that that, I found this to be a really well-written piece of fiction. Hatshepsut was a strong, tenacious woman, as seen in the way that she held on to her crown, even as her nephew attempted to take it from her. Gedge’s descriptions of ancient Egypt are evocative of the time and place. I don’t know much about ancient Egypt, but I’ve heard that Gedge was renowned for accuracy in her research. This novel is a slow one to read, but well wroth it. I’ll be on the lookout for more books by Pauline Gedge.

Comments

Daphne said…
I have a copy of this one but not sure when I"ll get to it. The writing sounds very similar to what she used in The Eagle and the Raven - it was very good, but kind of slow going sometimes.
Teddy Rose said…
This book sound quite good to me and I have had it on my TBR for awhile now. Your review makes me want to read it even more.
Anonymous said…
I liked Michelle Moran's books set in Egypt. I think I might add this one to the list too.

Popular posts from this blog

Another giveaway

This time, the publicist at WW Norton sent me two copies of The Glass of Time , by Michael Cox--so I'm giving away the second copy. Cox is the author of The Meaning of Night, and this book is the follow-up to that. Leave a comment here to enter to win it! The deadline is next Sunday, 10/5/08.

A giveaway winner, and another giveaway

The winner of the Girl in a Blue Dress contest is... Anna, of Diary of An Eccentric ! My new contest is for a copy of The Shape of Mercy , by Susan Meissner. According to Publisher's Weekly : Meissner's newest novel is potentially life-changing, the kind of inspirational fiction that prompts readers to call up old friends, lost loves or fallen-away family members to tell them that all is forgiven and that life is too short for holding grudges. Achingly romantic, the novel features the legacy of Mercy Hayworth—a young woman convicted during the Salem witch trials—whose words reach out from the past to forever transform the lives of two present-day women. These book lovers—Abigail Boyles, elderly, bitter and frail, and Lauren Lars Durough, wealthy, earnest and young—become unlikely friends, drawn together over the untimely death of Mercy, whose precious diary is all that remains of her too short life. And what a diary! Mercy's words not only beguile but help Abigail and Lars

Six Degrees of Barbara Pym's Novels

This year seems to be The Year of Barbara Pym; I know some of you out there are involved in some kind of a readalong in honor of the 100th year of her birth. I’ve read most of her canon, with only The Sweet Dove Died, Civil to Strangers, An Academic Question, and Crampton Hodnet left to go (sadly). Barbara Pym’s novels feature very similar casts of characters: spinsters, clergymen, retirees, clerks, and anthropologists, with which she had direct experience. So it stands to reason that there would be overlaps in characters between the novels. You can trace that though the publication history of her books and therefore see how Pym onionizes her stories and characters. She adds layers onto layers, adding more details as her books progress. Some Tame Gazelle (1950): Archdeacon Hoccleve makes his first appearance. Excellent Women (1952): Archdeacon Hoccleve gives a sermon that is almost incomprehensible to Mildred Lathbury; Everard Bone understands it, however, and laughs