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This is the story of Nefertari, "The Heretic Queen: Heiress of Misfortune, Pharoah's Beloved." Find this book in our catalog.

The author, Michelle Moran is also the author of the novel, Nefertiti. Nefertiti was the Queen and wife to the Egyptian pharoah, Akhenaten, who deposed the old gods along with the powerful chief priest of Amun, thus creating powerful enemies who eventually destroyed his family, labelling them heretics.

Nefertari, the heroine of The Heretic Queen, was the chief wife and Queen of Nineteenth Dynasty pharoah, Rameses the Great. Rameses and Nefertari are immortalised in the vast mortuary temples preserved at Abu Simbel. No one knows who the historical Nefertari was, though they know her marriage to Rameses was a love match. Michelle Moran chooses to make her fictional Nefertari the niece of Nefertiti and the only remaining remnant of her family to survive a murderous fire and be fostered at the royal court of Pharoah Seti.

Though accorded all the outward privileges of a royal princess, Nefertari was nevertheless feared and hated as a heretic. She would have spent a miserable childhood being ostracized and bullied at school if it had not been for her constant companion Rameses. Their childhood friendship blossoms into love, yet Rameses is manouevered into taking another woman as his first wife. This woman is the puppet of the chief priest of Amun and his co-conspirator, Hennattaway, a royal princess and high priestess of Isis. The reason this pair are seeking influence over the first wife are slowly revealed throughout the book, as are other plots, and conspiracies. If Nefertari is to avoid the fate of being banished to a harem in the desert to languish away in semi-starvation, spinning and weaving to eke out a living, as many other spare royal women, wives, and concubines are doomed to do, she must scheme hard to get Rameses to admit his love for her and marry her. She has her work cut out for her since she is unpopular with the people who fear her supposed hereticism. Nefertari is supported in this effort by another high priestess and her faction, who have their own reasons for hating Hennuttaway. Rameses and Nefertari eventually consummate their love and are married. Though clearly Nefertari is his favorite, and he spends many sweet hours in her bed, Ramses still remains loyal to his first wife and fathers a son with her. Will Nefertari succeed in her struggle to be declared the chief wife and Queen, thus thwarting the mysterious schemes of Hennuttawy? One of the chief weapons Nefertari has in her arsenal is her skill in statescraft. She becomes indispensable to Pharoah in the audience chamber and on campaign. Will Nefertari both gain her own goals and also help Pharoah to preserve the empire?



I spent several happy hours finding out the answer to this conundrum and in the process learned a lot about ancient Egyptian life, politics, and customs. I found all of it endlessly fascinating, from the style and cut of diaphanous linen robes to the customs surrounding a royal birth, and the mortuary beliefs of the pharoahs. All of the detail contributes immeasurably to the pleasure of the book. I give it a thumbs up!

Labels: Ancient Egypt - fiction, Heretic Queen, Michelle Moran, Nefertari - fiction, Rameses the Great - fiction