- 999 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
Discover the engrossing story of Ancient Egypt's longest-reigning female pharaoh and her audacious rise to power in a man’s world
‘Hatshepsut’s story provides all the ingredients required of a modern bestseller… well-researched… hugely enjoyable.’ Mail on Sunday
Hatshepsut, the daughter of a general who had usurped the throne of Egypt, was born into a privileged position within the royal household. Married off to her own brother, she was expected to bear sons who would legitimize the reign of her father’s family. But she failed to produce a male heir. Such was the twist of fate that paved the way for her own scarcely believable rule: she ascended to the throne as a ‘king’.
Over a spectacular twenty-two-year reign, Hatshepsut proved herself a master strategist, cloaking her political power plays with a veil of piety and sexual reinvention. Just as women today face obstacles from a society that equates authority with masculinity, Hatshepsut had to operate the levers of a patriarchal system to emerge as Egypt’s second female pharaoh.
Scholars have long speculated as to why her images were violently destroyed within a few decades of her death, all but erasing evidence of her rule. Constructing a rich narrative history using the sources that remain, noted Egyptologist Kara Cooney offers a remarkable interpretation of how Hatshepsut rapidly but methodically consolidated power – and why she fell from public favour just as quickly. The Woman Who Would Be King traces the unconventional life of a female pharaoh and explores our complicated reactions to women in power.
‘With rigorous scholarship and a lively sense of sisterhood, Cooney retrieves Hatshepsut in her own times and liberates her as a woman for ours.’ The Times
'Engrossing and compulsively readable.' TIME Magazine
‘Hatshepsut’s story provides all the ingredients required of a modern bestseller… well-researched… hugely enjoyable.’ Mail on Sunday
Hatshepsut, the daughter of a general who had usurped the throne of Egypt, was born into a privileged position within the royal household. Married off to her own brother, she was expected to bear sons who would legitimize the reign of her father’s family. But she failed to produce a male heir. Such was the twist of fate that paved the way for her own scarcely believable rule: she ascended to the throne as a ‘king’.
Over a spectacular twenty-two-year reign, Hatshepsut proved herself a master strategist, cloaking her political power plays with a veil of piety and sexual reinvention. Just as women today face obstacles from a society that equates authority with masculinity, Hatshepsut had to operate the levers of a patriarchal system to emerge as Egypt’s second female pharaoh.
Scholars have long speculated as to why her images were violently destroyed within a few decades of her death, all but erasing evidence of her rule. Constructing a rich narrative history using the sources that remain, noted Egyptologist Kara Cooney offers a remarkable interpretation of how Hatshepsut rapidly but methodically consolidated power – and why she fell from public favour just as quickly. The Woman Who Would Be King traces the unconventional life of a female pharaoh and explores our complicated reactions to women in power.
‘With rigorous scholarship and a lively sense of sisterhood, Cooney retrieves Hatshepsut in her own times and liberates her as a woman for ours.’ The Times
'Engrossing and compulsively readable.' TIME Magazine
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Woman Who Would be King by Kara Cooney in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Historical Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
INDEX
Aakheperkare Khenemtankh (Thutmose United with Life), 52
Abydos:
royal cemetery in, 100
temple in, 122
Ahhotep I, 13, 239n9
Ahmes:
and Ahmose I, 37
and Amen, 163
and Amenhotep I, 21
children of, 28
death (probable) of, 149
as God’s Wife of Amen, 13, 14–15, 31
as Hatshepsut’s mother, 7, 20, 21, 24–26, 28, 33, 45, 52, 57–59, 61–64, 85, 163
images of, 177
as King’s Great Wife, 20, 21, 22–23, 24, 25–26, 28, 31, 33, 34, 45, 59, 61
as King’s Mother, 121–22
as King’s Sister, 20, 241n22
name of, 241n20
pregnancies of, 26, 27, 28
and succession, 15, 22
as Thutmose I’s wife, 20, 21, 23, 28, 241n20, 249n6
as Thutmose II’s regent, 54–55, 57–59, 61, 62–64, 79, 85, 248n4
unclear history of, 241–42n22
Ahmes-Nefertari:
and Amenhotep I, 12, 13, 15, 58
and Eighteenth Dynasty, 12
as God’s Wife of Amen, 15, 36, 37, 38
as King’s Great Wife, 15
as King’s Mother, 12, 15, 23
as King’s Sister, 15
marriage of, 12
as regent, 13, 37, 58, 79, 227
Ahmose I:
Ahmes as wife of, 37
burial place of, 49, 269n25
daughter of, 23
Donation Stela of, 239n9
marriage of, 12
military campaigns of, 37, 196
name of, 241n20
reign of, viii, 13, 79
Ahmose Pennekhbet, 91–92, 123, 139
as chief treasurer, 90, 91
daughter of, 176, 191, 252n5
Ahmoside dynasty, 7, 15, 16, 20, 38, 52
Akhenaten, 191, 2...
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Chronology
- Author’s Note
- Preface
- One: Divine Origins
- Two: A Place of Her Own
- Three: King’s Great Wife
- Four: Regent for a Baby King
- Five: The Climb Toward Kingship
- Six: Keeping the Kingship
- Seven: The King Becomes a Man
- Eight: The Setting Sun
- Nine: The King Is Dead; Long Live the King
- Ten: Lost Legacy
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Further Reading
- Image Section
- Index