Child of the Morning

Name: Child of the Morning
Rating: 4.17 (5322 reviews)

by Pauline Gedge

First published 1977

Amazon

4.2(5,322)

Hatshepsut grows from royal daughter and queen into the dominant ruler of Egypt, refusing to accept that government and military authority belong only to men. After serving as regent for the young Thutmose III, she takes the titles and regalia of a pharaoh and builds a court capable of sustaining her unprecedented position.

Her reign brings trade, monuments and imperial power, but personal loyalty and dynastic necessity remain in conflict. The novel follows Hatshepsut’s relationship with the architect Senenmut and the resentment surrounding Thutmose’s inheritance, ending with the struggle over how a female king will be remembered after her death.