I love history, but I tend to fixate on the periods in history that I love the most. I’m not very good at branching out from the World Wars or the Cold War. But I am a firm believer that history of any kind can be a valuable teacher; and one can never learn too much about the past, so I try occasionally to find something totally new to read. Enter Egyptologist Kara Cooney’s account on the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut.
In The Woman Who Would Be King, Cooney provides an in-depth look at this incredible woman who became Ancient Egypt’s longest-reigning female king (and yes, I specifically mean king. Queens weren’t a thing). Born into privilege as the only child to King Thutmose I and his Great-Wife Ahmen, Hatshepsut navigated life from the royal nursery to becoming High Priestess to the god Amen, to marrying her half-brother and becoming the Great-Wife and a mother herself, all the way to cleverly manipulating the system to shift her regency of infant-king Thutmose III into her own kingship over Egypt. It’s an incredible story and unique in many ways.
Cooney doesn’t limit herself to just Hatshepsut but rather gives us a great deal of historical information surrounding her life. She covers Thutmose I’s rise to power, his marriage to Ahmen, and his rule. She discusses details of the priestess position Hatshepsut inherited (at a shockingly young age!), the rituals and ceremonies she would’ve been part of, and recounts much of the lore of the Egyptian gods. Readers learn about palace life and the kings’ harems, including how marriages – often amongst half-siblings – and births took place, and how succession worked. Furthermore, Cooney includes Thutmose III’s reign after Hatshepsut’s death and some details of the life of her closest official and supporter Senenmut.
Cooney is quick to point out what stands out about Hatshepsut compared to other female rulers in history. Unlike the infamous Cleopatra, for example, Hatshepsut is not known for using her sexuality to beguile her way into leadership or to keep it. She peacefully took over the throne with no evidence of assassinations, coups, and the like. She was hardly opposed, widely accepted, and highly successful in her reign. She led military campaigns, built incredible obelisks and temples, and shrewdly linked her life and reign to the gods.
It’s important to remember that Cooney is an Egyptologist. She puts forth theories and speculates on several things. I thought she did a pretty good job of leading readers – who most likely are not Egyptologists – through her thought process without totally losing them. It’s a very educational book, but I think Cooney does a pretty good job turning it into a fascinating narrative at the same time.
My only complaint is that there were several chapters that really dragged on, and I felt like I wasn’t getting any new information. For that reason, I give the book three stars. All in all, it’s a good read, and you’ll come away with a lot of new information on the most powerful country in ancient times.
Copyright Kara Cooney and Crown Publishing.
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