Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict

 

Title:  Daughter of Egypt

Author:  Marie Benedict

Narrated by:  Bessie Carter, Suehyla El-Attar

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 11 hour and 47 minutes

Source: Review copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

What part of the ancient world would you like to learn more about?  I love reading about ancient Egypt, but I would also like to read more about ancient civilizations in South America. 

Lady Evelyn Herbert shares her father, Lord Carnarvon’s love for archeology and Egyptian artifacts.  She has a lifelong passion to find the tomb of the first female Pharoah, Hatshepsut.  Will she be able to find the tomb?  Hatshepsut was the first female Pharoah.  What was her pathway to the throne?

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       This was a dual narrative novel with Lady Evelyn’s narrative taking place in the 1920s searching for Hatshepsut’s tomb and Hatshepsut’s story in 1486 BC as the first woman Pharoah.

·       I loved the Easter egg of Ernest and Grace Seton and their travels in Egypt in the 1920s.  They are the parents of Anya Seton, a historical fiction author that I have loved my entire life.

·       I enjoyed that the story included the perspective of the Egyptians.  Was it right for the English and others to take the Egyptians treasure and artifacts to other countries?

·       Hatshepsut’s story seemed forced into this book.  Lady Evelyn was on the King Tut expedition which is a very exciting story on its own.  I feel like Hatshepsut deserves her own book!

·       There were also Easter eggs for Downtown Abbey.  Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle, his daughter Evelyn, and hi associate archaeologist Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s tomb.  It was a mostly intact tomb, the likes of which had not been found for quite some time.

·       I had been obsessed with the King Tut discovery when I was a kid.  I did not remember Evelyn being a part of the discovery.  I enjoyed learning about her now.

·       The real-life Evelyn Herbert is the basis for character in two movies I enjoy – The Mummy and Stargate.

·       I enjoyed listening to this on audiobook and liked that two different narrator were used for the two different characters that were telling the story.

Overall, Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict was a fascinating dual narrative historical fiction novel.  This was one of my favorite reads in April.