Author Description

Little is known and even less has been written about the Eighteenth Dynasty Egyptian King, Hatshepsut. I have studied her since high school and on becoming an Egyptologist after my one visit to the country I was determined to learn all there was to know about this enigmatic woman who posed as a man (at official ceremonies) in order to maintain her status as pharaoh. the more I learned the more intrigued and determined I became, putting a first draft to paper late in 2012. the result was factual but boring; I knew it had no chance of selling. I was faced with the more daunting task of not only getting into the woman's mind but taking a slice of her life and turning it into a readable story based on fact mixed with fiction. Born in 1509 BC Hatshepsut grew up in "The Golden Age" lost among such celebrities as Tutankhamen, Akhenaton, Nefertiti and Ramses, even standing in the shadow of her own father, Tuthmosis I. Her controversial rise to power first as Regent to an illegitimate offspring of her late husband and then by seizing the throne in accordance with an 'oracle' first gave early Egyptologists the impression of an 'evil aunt'. We know today however, that was not the case. My one wish for this book is to give people a glimpse of the woman behind the famous 'Stepped Temple' at Deir-el Bahri; I have set out to unveil some of the mystery and intrigue surrounding Hatshepsut and help cement her rightful place in history.