THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BE KING Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt

With a youthful and energetic cadence, Egyptologist Kara Cooney introduces the listener to the far-off, mysterious world and times of ancient Egypt during the Eighteenth Dynasty, when a lone woman, Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BC), dressed, acted, and ruled as a male pharaoh. It was an unprecedented feat and rarely equaled. We know from hieroglyphics that Hatshepsut was a strong and accomplished ruler--building trade routes to the Land of Punt, making peace with Nubia, and, of course, erecting all the necessary monuments. But Cooney strives for more than just the facts. She speculates on what Hatshepsut may have thought and felt. Although not a professional narrator, Cooney brings a welcome enthusiasm to creating an accessible, modern-feeling portrait of a woman who didn't settle for being queen, but became a king. B.P. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2014]