The Woman Who Would Be Pharaoh: A Novel of Ancient Egypt [Hardcover]

William Klein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2009

Ranging from the flood plains of the Nile to the snow-covered passes of the Taurus Mountains, this historical novel is set in the tumultuous period of the waning 18th Egyptian Dynasty, and follows Ankhesenamun, the newly widowed wife of the murdered Tutankhamun. She rules over a court rife with intrigues, assassins and daring sexual liaisons. Facing a forced marriage to her own grandfather—who covets the throne for himself—Ankhesenamun desperately turns to her dear friend, the warrior and scholar Menkhara, for help. She sends him on an impossible mission to the land of the Hittites, and the court of the most feared ruler of the ancient world. His task is to bring one of the sons of this sworn enemy of Egypt to be Ankhesenamun's husband, thus saving her throne. This saga is at once a portrait of a remarkable queen willing to embrace in marriage her country’s ancient foe to save her crown, and a heartbreaking love story that weaves history, mystery, regicide, incest and a terrifying conclusion into a compelling tale.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An engaging saga, making maximum use of its salacious aspects, even including the idea that Tutankhamen was teased for his—shall we say—smallish manhood. War, sex, and antiquity—always a winning combination."  —Booklist

About the Author

William Klein practiced law in New Orleans as an assistant DA and served as a senior trial attorney with the civil rights and land and natural resources divisions of the Department of Justice. He lives in Mill Valley, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kunati Inc. (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601641893
• ISBN-13: 978-1601641892
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,116,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Truly Disgusting, October 18, 2009

By 

Janet (Montana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Woman Who Would Be Pharaoh: A Novel of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)

I am appalled by this book. I have never in all my years read a book so distasteful. I want to warn anyone who thinks this is a historical fiction book. I think it should be sold as erotica or in that category. I am not saying it doesn't have historical facts, however it has incest and so many sex scenes in it that it takes away from the historic value. The worst part is the copulating dwarfs and the very explicit description of the male dwarf's genitals. ( I have to wonder what the author was aiming for there.. wishful thinking on his part or something else?) The treachery of these people is unreal. The women are all harlots at one time or another. This could have been a good book. It has suspense, a love story, and history. Too bad it had to be ruined the way it was. The Harlequin romance novels are called smut. I have news for those that think that. The romance in those novels are done very tastefully compared to this book. I read all most every page, I skipped a few towards the end.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Simply awful, October 28, 2009

By 

Misfit (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Woman Who Would Be Pharaoh: A Novel of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)

As far as I was able to gather (I made it to page 110), this story is about Princess Ankhesenpaaten who at fifteen is set to marry nine-year-old Pharaoh to be Tutankhamen. According to the book jacket, she is eventually widowed there is a big power struggle with lots of nasty deeds and family treachery. In the first pages, the Princess is more interested in men, sex and drinking at the local tavern - she escapes from the Royal Palace and meets up with the young set (I am not kidding) and heads for the local tavern and gets royally soused and does the hurdy gurdy in front of everyone (no, I am not kidding) and incites the men to drool after her. There is then some kind of attempt on her life and our intrepid hero saves her and voila (!!) they end up at some lake or river and do the nasty and presto-chango, they're madly in love and our snotty child abusing heroine (more on that shortly) is the sweetest thing since honey on bread. And I'll buy that bridge in Brooklyn.....

As if bad writing and lack of continuity in a storyline wasn't enough to send the book flying the copulating dwarfs most certainly did - let alone what our Royal Princess did to young Tut (remember now he's just nine) when she and her handmaidens attacked him in the bedroom and raised his night shirt......

Sorry but this is Amazon so I can't quote it here but it is truly disgusting and unless there is some historical basis that this princess went around molesting young boys I can't see any reason for it other than a feeble attempt to titillate the audience. Eeew, eeew, eeew. Get it from the library if you must, I'm glad I did. I must go and wash my brain out thoroughly with soap and water. This book deserves no stars and is a serious waste of a tree.

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I Am Shocked!, August 27, 2009

By 

Tara (Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Woman Who Would Be Pharaoh: A Novel of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)

This is going to appear out of place among all these 5 stars reviews, I know, and I am seriously questioning whether we all read the same book. There are some things in this novel that I feel some readers may want to be warned about.

First of all, the story is about Tutankhamun's widow (and if one does their research, it is said she is also his half sister as well as Nefertiti's daughter) , Ankhesenpaaten and her struggle to retain her throne against her aunt, Mutnedjmet (Nefertiti's sister). There is court drama and intrigue as each woman tries to "one up" the other. A "cat fight" so to speak. They each have their allies, and unfortunately, they both sleep with their allies.

Both women are portrayed as very "loose." In the first 50 pages alone, Ankhesenpaaten does nothing but party, drink, make fun of her future husband's sex organ, and throw herself at a complete stranger. Mutnedjmet, tho older, is not much better as she crawls in bed with a priest of Amun, Simut.

When copulating dwarves entered the picture (they literally copulated for people's entertainment at a party) that was it for me.

Also of note is some rather odd phrases that I think could have been reworded. When Simut is thinking to himself about a recent conversation he had with Mutnedjmet, I quote, "He had gained a powerful ally, and she could pee all over him for all he cared."

I was under the impression this was a historical fiction novel, not erotic. It will not be for everyone. I recommend Nefertiti: A Novel for a historical novel that takes place in same time. It is from the viewpoint of Mutnedjmet and it manages to have scandal and history both, but with more likeable ladies.