A good book, although the author seems to be more interested in discussing the various ideas and conceptions involving Hatchepsut than in the reign of the female king herself. If you are not already a student of Pharoanic Egypt then this is not a good book to jump into, despite the chapters which outline Egyptian history in general and the 18th Dynasty specifically. Tyldesley does not buy into various conspiracy theories involving the reign of this female king but instead discusses the mindset of the historians and archeologists and how their attitudes resulted in many modern concepts. An interesting book.

Joyce Tyldesley provides us with a thorough examination of the evidence surrounding the pharaoh Hatchepsut. She discusses issues such as the disputed order of succession, the conspicuous over-use of propaganda by Hatchepsut to legitimize her power and the question of exactly who attempted to erase the name of Hatchepsut from the monuments and why. Her arguments in each case are based on a judicious weighing of the evidence and the reader is always provided with alternative interpretations from other scholars. Tyldesley systematically dismantles the prevalent opinion that many of the actions of both Hatchepsut herself and her stepson Tuthmosis were motivated by a deadly enmity. On this issue she suggests that Tuthmosis was relatively accepting of the co-regency his stepmother imposed on him, but fails to suggest a convincing motivation for this. The one real disappointment in the book is that Tyldesley does not provide us with any real suggestion as to how Hatchepsut was able to succeed in establishing herself as pharaoh. She emphasizes that Hatchepsut would have needed both an acceptable reason and widespread support among the powerful men of the kingdom to be able to go against maat (the Egyptian concept of tradition and balance) and establish herself as king, but does not provide us with a plausible suggestion as to what such a reason may have been or whose support may have been responsible for her success. Admittedly, there are unlikely to be definitive answers, but these questions are barely raised. All in all, the book is an intriguing and insightful portrait of the world's first truly powerful woman.

With a use of the historical and archaeological evidence from various places in Egypt and beyond, an Oxford-educated Joyce Tyldesley has written a well-detailed biography book entitled "Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh." The book, as similar to her Nefertiti: Unlocking the Mystery Surrounding Egypt's Most Famous and Beautiful Queen, drives the general readers to experience and to understand the story of the female Pharaoh named Hatchepsut, her historical family background, the history of her memory after her death, and theories of historical scholars who have studied. There are eight chapters in the book with the addition of the "Introduction," which highlights Hatchepsut as a preferred King of Egypt, addresses a brief history of the Dynasty periods, and introduces Manetho who preserved the memory of Hatchepsut.

What came as interesting to which this book explores the relationship between Hatchepsut and her father, Pharaoh Tuthmosis I. There does not appeared to be any negativity between them, and was seen as very positive. Throughout the years of her rule, Hatchepsut honored her father "in every way possible" in order to preserve her direct link to Tuthmosis I as a rightful heir to Egyptian throne (p. 117-8). Since she was born to both Tuthmosis I and Queen Ahmose who were of a royal blood, Hatchepsut believed that she had a direct royal bloodline because her brother-husband, Tuthmosis II, was born to a mother who was not from a royal bloodline. Therefore, she believed that she had a right to rule Egypt regardless of what her gender was. An impression that comes to one's mind from the book is that Hatchepsut needed to rule Egypt in the honor of her father and not for her personal agenda.

Tyldesley also pointed out the creation of Hatchepsut's "divine birth" story as well the role of women in the Theban royal family as evidence for Hatchepsut to be a rightful ruler of Egypt.

The author holds the readers' interest with a clear writing and vivid understanding when it comes to historical biography and theories. The book is well-organized with the visual aspects of maps, figures, and pictures. She has presented a historical analysis that was not dry or technical, and it should be a good advantage for readers' ancient Egyptian knowledge. Tyldesley's book is recommended to both the general readers and historical scholars because the author brought forth a readable and very interesting book.

The layout of the history leading to the story of Hatchepsut is very informative. I enjoyed knowing what is believed to be the events leading to her acension and the contributions she made during her reign. very interesting reading and well constructed.

Forget Cleopatra, she wasn't even a native of Egypt. She was a Greek woman who ruled from the Greek city of Alexandria.

Maatkare Hatchepsut, however, was a true woman of the Nile, who came from the ancient ruling family of Thebes, which formed the famous 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom. Joyce Tyldesley presents the female king as a real and believable human being, even offering speculations that Hatchepsut was an insecure woman who was lonely because of the exaltedness of her royal position.

Tyldesley doesn't offer any biased personal opinions about the subject of her book. She presents the facts, as they are currently known to the field of egyptology, and doesn't play favorites. She praises and questions Hatchepsut in equal degrees, justly seeing the female Pharaoh as one of Egypt's greatest (and most underestimated) rulers and questioning the motives of her royal ambitions. Tyldesley offers anecdotes from egyptology, citing earlier scholars of Hatchepsut and the 18th Dynasty with ease. She offers historical comparisons, between Hatchepsut and her royal Egyptian sisters and with other figures from history (Egyptian and otherwise): the Cleopatra VII Ptolemy, Livia Drusilla, and Queen Semiramis of Assyria. The thesis of the entire book is that Hatchepsut, while not unique from a historical perspective, took the role of a female ruler (queen of queen-regent) in Egypt to its finality (female king/Pharaoh).

I was impressed with the ease of this book, it read very well. I had little trouble in understanding any of the overall themes of this book, and seriously recommend it to anyone who wants to get a good idea of what a true Egyptian noblewoman of high birth was like. Again, Hatchepsut is not Cleopatra, who lived and died about 1,500 years after Maatkare. Hatchepsut's life and death was wound up in her belief that she was the living daughter of Amen-Re (later to be identified by the Greeks and Romans as Zeus/Jupiter) and that she was the rightful her of her adored father, Tuthmosis I (who is said to also be Amen-Re in human form). Hatchepsut's propaganda was entirely one-sided and self-absorbed, she seems obsessed with her own self-importance, and she can turn a minor event like the trading mission to Punt into a public relations coup. None of this, however, is inconsistent with prior or succeeding Pharaohs. What makes Hatchepsut stand out is, of course, obvious: we know from hindsight that a woman is saying all of these things.

An impressive book that opens up for the modern reader a fascinating period of history (with equally fascinating figures) from dynastic Egypt.

The book is highly readable and certainly interesting in content about the first Pharoanic female "who would be king." The problem with it lies in the evidence or, more accurately, lack thereof. Because there is so very little known about Hatshepsut and her time, writing a book that isn't almost entirely speculative is rather difficult and becomes, by necessity, more of a historical novel than a discussion of historical fact. Redundancy is also unavoidable as the author tries to present the very little information that we have in enough pages to fill a book. All the content could have been condensed quite easily into a chapter rather than a book. Having said that, it IS fun reading, and the lack of evidence certainly allows the reader's imagination to take over and recreate a past that may or may not have existed. Hatshepsut the ruler certainly lived, but much more than that, we just can't know at this time, so that this author's guesses are as good as any other Egyptologists.

The book is highly readable and certainly interesting in content about the first Pharoanic female "who would be king." The problem with it lies in the evidence or, more accurately, lack thereof. Because there is so very little known about Hatshepsut and her time, writing a book that isn't almost entirely speculative is rather difficult and becomes, by necessity, more of a historical novel than a discussion of historical fact. Redundancy is also unavoidable as the author tries to present the very little information that we have in enough pages to fill a book. All the content could have been condensed quite easily into a chapter rather than a book. Having said that, it IS fun reading, and the lack of evidence certainly allows the reader's imagination to take over and recreate a past that may or may not have existed. Hatshepsut the ruler certainly lived, but much more than that, we just can't know at this time, so that this author's guesses are as good as any other Egyptologists.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and read it at one sitting! It's quite a page turner. I found some of the authors conclusions to be rather quick given the spotty historical record of that time period but there is pleanty of citations and a lengthy bibliography for further reading.

`Had Hatchepsut been born a man, her lengthy rule would almost certainly be remembered for its achievements: its stable government, successful trade missions, and the impressive architectural advances which include the construction of the Deir el-Bahri temple on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, a building which is still widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. Instead, Hatchepsut's gender has become her most important characteristic, and almost all references to her reign have concentrated not on her policies but on the person relationship and power struggles which many historians have felt able to detect within the claustrophobic early 18th Dynasty Theban royal family.'

Egypt was of course a male-dominated society, but for being so, it produced many strong women, including Hatchepsut, Cleopatra, and Nefertiti. The latter two are far more famous, having been renowned as well more for their gender and gender-attributes (the beauty of their physical form) than for any political or social achievements they might have made (although Cleopatra's foray into Roman politics most likely would have assured her fame).

Hatchepsut took on the outward aspects of male dress and iconography when assuming the power of Pharoah -- while Cleopatra has always been described as 'Queen' Cleopatra, it is perhaps more correct to refer to Hatchepsut as a 'King', a Pharoah, which is a male term with no real feminine equivalent in the language. She even wore a false beard in the manner of Pharoahs of the time to play the role of ruler. She was an eldest daughter of Tuthmosis I, married to her half-brother Tuthmosis II (a regular custom in Egyptian royal families from earliest times to the final dynasty of Cleopatra, whose generation also had such intermarriages), and guardian of her stepson Tuthmosis III. Much of the history of her reign was suppressed by later generations of Egyptians who wanted to prevent another female from assuming royal/divine power.

Joyce Tyldesley (who also wrote the book on `Nefertiti', which I have reviewed recently) has produced a well-researched work exploring the political, social and family climate into which Hatchepsut was thrown. Using historical research and archaeological discoveries, she has produced a marvelous biography, restoring this long-forgotten ruler to the ranks of the Pharoahs.

Hatchepsut was short-tempered and made many mistakes during her twenty-year-long reign. However, she was also a capable and able ruler in many respects. The Tuthmosidian Theban royal family which uneasily straddled the divide between the 17th and 18th Dynasties was a tight-knit but feuding lot. To give themselves stability and legitimacy, they strove to replicate glories of the past, in particular those of the 12th Dynasty. This was an era of unease, due to the quickening pace of technological advance occurring simultaneously with a resurgence of interest in 'traditional' values (much like our own time today, in many respects).

Tyldesley begins with an examination of the general society: the role of pharoah, a divine/absolute ruler upon which almost all society turned; the role of the royal family, the priest and military classes, and the interaction with foreign cultures. From here she proceeds to examine the specifics of the Tuthmoside family, with their warring factions and cooperative ventures designed to shore up a tenuous grasp on the authority of power. Examining Hatchepsut's rise to power, she divides it into two chapters - `Queen of Egypt' and `King of Egypt'. The precise sequence of reigns between the three Tuthmosis rulers and Hatchepsut is still unclear (given the degradation and recasting of monumental and inscription engravings to eliminate Hatchepsut's name) -- it is likely that the authority shifted back and forth, with periods of co-regency during multiple years.

What became of Hatchepsut is a bit of a mystery. She may have been killed by Tuthmosis III who was tired of sharing the reigns of power or waiting for his inheritance. However, this is unlikely given Hatchepsut's advanced age -- nature would take its course in any event. Hatchepsut's mummy has never been definitively identified, nor has any particular tomb been found that might have been hers and hers alone. Multiple sites have been discovered that are possible candidates, but this mystery awaits future discoveries.

This is an interesting, accessible biography which brings to light many recent discoveries and shares contrasting theories of the history of this interesting figure.

Joyce Tyldesley's Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh is more than a good introduction to the title figure from ancient Egyptian history. The book is, in a way, Hatshepsut's biography; however it is quite honest about the amount of evidence that survives today--very little--and therefore does not pretend that some sort of definitive and personal narrative of the Pharaoh's life is possible. Instead of giving a year-by-year account of Hatshepsut and her life, the book presents and examines its subject in terms of historiography. Tyldesley discusses previous theories and extant evidence in a frank manner while offering her own interpretations, which tend to legitimize Hatshepsut's reign (and are sometimes quite compelling). Because there is so little evidence and the subject of Hatshepsut, a woman who ruled Egypt as a Pharaoh, is so easily entangled is people's own ideas about gender and power, all these interpretations--including Tydesley's--involve a degree of bias. This was particularly the case when scholars argued from silence, constructing their own ideas about Hatshepsut based on the logic of contemporary gender roles but in the absence of tangible facts. To address such interpretations by previous scholars, Tyldesley has had to put forth arguments in this same vacuum. She recognizes that interpretation without corroborating evidence is fundamentally problematic, and, when it comes to such difficult topics, she makes a laudable effort to be honest about how just what is and is not firm fact, and to give previous scholars their due credit. Overall, then, the book does an excellent job of problematizing the study of Hatshepsut--of showing what we know, what we assume (and why), and what is still wholly mystery. Those who read this book even slightly critically should come away with a decently balanced view of Hatshepsut.
At the same time as she displays a scholar's caution in weighing evidence and interpretation, Tyldesley writes a very readable book. This is not a novel or highly-animated biography, but it does hold the reader's attention with lucid writing and a good structure. Even its historiographic analyses should be interesting to the non-specialist--they are not dry and technical, instead having an element of the excitement of a mystery--Tyldesley traces clues and leads us toward some possible answers without closing the topic. The book should be useful and interesting for students of the field as well as for the general public--I read the book for a graduate paper, but I intend to send it to a friend to read for fun!

Joyce Tyldesley's Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh is more than a good introduction to the title figure from ancient Egyptian history. The book is, in a way, Hatshepsut's biography; however it is quite honest about the amount of evidence that survives today--very little--and therefore does not pretend that some sort of definitive and personal narrative of the Pharaoh's life is possible. Instead of giving a year-by-year account of Hatshepsut and her life, the book presents and examines its subject in terms of historiography. Tyldesley discusses previous theories and extant evidence in a frank manner while offering her own interpretations, which tend to legitimize Hatshepsut's reign (and are sometimes quite compelling). Because there is so little evidence and the subject of Hatshepsut, a woman who ruled Egypt as a Pharaoh, is so easily entangled is people's own ideas about gender and power, all these interpretations--including Tydesley's--involve a degree of bias. This was particularly the case when scholars argued from silence, constructing their own ideas about Hatshepsut based on the logic of contemporary gender roles but in the absence of tangible facts. To address such interpretations by previous scholars, Tyldesley has had to put forth arguments in this same vacuum. She recognizes that interpretation without corroborating evidence is fundamentally problematic, and, when it comes to such difficult topics, she makes a laudable effort to be honest about how just what is and is not firm fact, and to give previous scholars their due credit. Overall, then, the book does an excellent job of problematizing the study of Hatshepsut--of showing what we know, what we assume (and why), and what is still wholly mystery. Those who read this book even slightly critically should come away with a decently balanced view of Hatshepsut.
At the same time as she displays a scholar's caution in weighing evidence and interpretation, Tyldesley writes a very readable book. This is not a novel or highly-animated biography, but it does hold the reader's attention with lucid writing and a good structure. Even its historiographic analyses should be interesting to the non-specialist--they are not dry and technical, instead having an element of the excitement of a mystery--Tyldesley traces clues and leads us toward some possible answers without closing the topic. The book should be useful and interesting for students of the field as well as for the general public--I read the book for a graduate paper, but I intend to send it to a friend to read for fun!

While some Egyptologists may disagree with this view of Hatchepsut, I find this book a great analytical look of evidence to create a woman who was neither evil, conniving, nor power-hungry as the old view had her be. Tyldesley's writing was clear and easy to read, as well as being amusing at times. This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn about Egyptian culture as well, since she does very well at creating the background context. I highly recommend this book for any scholar of Egypt.

Hatchepsut... a name erased from monuments despite her importance to Egyptian history. As this book explains through archaeological and historical evidence, she was a remarkable pharaoh (and queen !) having done much for the country. Her expeditions and her relations with the numerous Thoutmosis are discussed in detail. A chapter is dedicated to Senenmut, an important figure in Hatchepsut's reign. Maps, black-and-white illustrations and photographs complete this useful book. Recommended for the interested reader.

I read this book for an essay for school, and I found that Tydesley was one of the few authors who attempted to prove that Hatchepsut (for it IS a correct spelling of her name due to the difficulty in the transliteration of Egyptian Hieroglyphs, which could prefer 'shep' or 'chep' depending on your discipline) was in fact an accepted ruler of Egypt due to the evidence that survives her. This is a rare viewpoint as most of the other authors have rejected her as the woman who usurped the throne from her step-son Tutmosis III (who was only about FOUR at the time he came to power!). A good read for an Egyptologist, or just someone who loves ancient civilizations and ancient personalities.

i would like to start off by saying something about one of the other reveiws this reveiwer said something about the way joyce tyldesley spelled the name hatchepsut instead of the way most people spell it hatshepsut and their is a reason for this the egyptians didn't have all the same sounds as us for instence cleoparta if you where to write her name in hieroglyphs you would spell it kleopatra. anyways this is a great book on hatchepsut. this book has 8 chapters about the eighteenth dynasty, the tuthmosides, queen of egypt, king of egypt, war and peace, propaganda in science, senenmut, and the end and the aftermath. and like in all her books she gives a section of notes. this is a great book.

I BELIEVE THE SPELLING OF THIS QUEEN'S NAME IS WRONG - ALL THE DOCUMENTS AND BOOKS I READ REFER TO HER AS " HATSHEPSUT"

I am big fan of Tyldesley, having read her other book 'Daughters of Isis', a study of women in ancient Egypt. She is a very well researched scholar who stays to the tradition of stating all the possible interpretations of her data.Overall I found her writing to be easy to read, but as a classics minor I sometimes forget most people are not familiar with the minute details of the Egyptian civilization. With this in mind, some might find her many references to other dynasties and kingdoms to be a little bit confusing. As most of this book is based on archeological reasearch it is almost impossible to consider this a biography. Those expecting firm facts about Hatchepsut's life will be dissapointed. Tyldesley manages to debate the many facts known to us and she compiles them into concise chapters. I recommend this book to anyone who has already been exposed to Ancient Egypt in some form. For those people who have yet to get their feet wet - read 'Daughters of Isis' first.