offers readers a fictional story of Egyptian princess Nefertiti, about her life before she became queen of Egypt.
The story opens with four-year-old Nefertiti struggling with nightmares of lions who hunt her. Her father, Ay, learning about what her night terrors involved, asks the goddess Isis to banish the evil dreams. Ay tells her that she was born further down the Nile, where the pyramids are located. At the time, Nefertiti's father served Pahraoh. Ay and Nefertiti's mother were travelling with Pharaoh and Ay's sister, Pharaoh's Great Royal Wife, Queen Tiye. On the night Nefertiti was born, she was given the Sphinx as a guardian - part man, lion, and god. Her father tells her she was born in one of the rest houses ,
The story then moves to the following year when at the age of five, Nefertiti's life began to change. In Akhmin, during the Festival of Inundation, her father marries Nefertiti's nursemaid, Mery. Nefertiti isn't happy about this and is indifferent when she learns Mery is expecting a baby. But that changes when the baby, a girl Mery names Mutnodjmet, is born. Mery asks Nefertiti to chose a name for her baby sister and she chooses "Bit-Bit, which means a double helping of honey."
Nefertiti becomes very attached to Bit-Bit. One day Nefertiti meets a scribe, Henenu who helps Nefertiti when she believes that Bit-Bit has been stung by a scorpion. Henenu is a dwarf who becomes a frequent visitor to Nefertiti's family's home as he has known her father since they were boys. Henenu is one of Pharaoh's best scribes. He secretly begins tutoring Nefertiti, teaching her how to read and write whenever he came to Akhmin, retreating to the family garden. There he taught Nefertiti new words, "...new papyrus scrolls containing stories of the gods and goddesses, of pharaohs and queens from distant times, of love and adventure, even of the world that lay beyond the borders of the Black Land!" The only problem was Bit-Bit who had to be directed somewhere else so Nefertiti and Henenu could have their lesson.
One day during a lesson from Henenu, ten-year-old Nefertiti becomes angry at the little scribe for laughing at a verse she wrote about the goddess Isis. Her temper tantrum causes Bit-Bit to return to the garden, and Nefertiti's rage at her little sister eventually brings her father, who discovers the lessons. When he confronts Henenu in the presence of Nefertiti and Bit-Bit, Nefertiti demands to know how learning to write was responsible for her mother's death. Ay reveals that Nefertiti's mother came to the Black Land from Mitanni. She was a scribe like Henenu and very beautiful. However, his sister, Tiye who is the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh, commanded Nefertiti's mother to be available at all times. When they were on their way journeying with the king and queen to Khufu's Horizon, Nefertit's mother tripped and fell and this cause her to be born early. Nefertit's mother died shortly afterwards. Ay admits to Nefertiti that they were afraid of his sister, Queen Tiye and should have stood up to her. She used her scribes, including Nefertiti's mother to transcribe her spies reports. Ay is determined that Nefertiti will not continue her lessons because this places her in danger of being used by Queen Tiye who has much power.
Before the Festival of Inundation, Ay invites the high priest to a lavish dinner as part of his investigation of the temples. Thirteen-year-old Nefertiti and Bit-Bit dance for him, and when his attempt to bribe Ay fails, he suggests that Nefertiti dance at the festival with the other maidens. However, Nefertiti faces jealousy from the other girls who are daughters from important families in Ahkmin, especially after learning it was the high priest's son, Ikeni who made a recent marriage proposal. During the dance Nefertiti falls off the dancing platform into the river and is saved from drowning by a young slave girl, Mahala who is from Habiru. However, the slave girl is taken away to be executed because the high priest of Isis declared that Nefertiti's fall into the river was the will of the goddess Isis and of Hapy as well. Anyone aiding Nefertiti would be offending the god. This revelation is devastating to Nefertiti and she secretly visits the house of the high priest to beg for the girl's life. However, the high priest tells her that the slave girl has already been executed and that he expects that Nefertiti will now marry his son, Ikeni since she tricked him into bringing her to see him. As a result Nefertiti is made a prisoner in the house of the high priest, but she manages to escape through trickery and arrives home the next morning to find that her father has been searching the city for her.
Nefertiti's life takes a dramatic change after her father Ay and his family is ordered to Abydos by Queen Tiye. Nefertiti is gifted an impressive "...many stranded necklace of gold, lapus lazuli, and rock crystal beads, with an enameled pendant of the goddess Hathor." by Queen Tiye. In Abydos Neferiti and her family are housed in Amun's temple where she encounters Henenu. After listening to Nefertiti describing what happened during the Festival of Iundation, Henenu suggests that Mahala who was a young, healthy, skilled musician may still be alive.
Nefertiti soon learns why her family has been suddenly ordered to Abydos: Queen Tiye, Pharaoh's Great Royal Wife and Nefertiti's paternal aunt has decided that she will marry her son, Crown Prince Thutmose. Ay tells the queen that he wants Nefertiti and Bit-Bit to marry men they love, while Neferititi states that she isn't sure she even wants to marry. However, Queen Tiyre is not to be dissuaded as she wants to ensure her son remains Crown Prince and eventually becomes Pharaoh. Although Ay attempts to reason with his sister, Queen Tiye, in the end he tells Nefertiti that Queen Tiye has threatened to accuse him along with a certain priest of Isis that he has "blasphemed against the gods". This would mean the enslavement of their entire family and all their possessions confiscated. Ay tells Nefertiti that he has managed to delay her marriage to Thutmose for three years while she learns the practices of the royal court. Nefertiti is to travel to the royal court in Thebes while Ay, Mery and Bit-Bit return to Akhmin.
In the royal palace at Thebes, Nefertiti must forge a new life with Pharaoh's family the harsh rule of Queen Tiye, while navigating the political intrigues of the palace. Although Prince Thutmose appears completely disinterested in Nefertiti, she forms a strong friendship with his brother, Amenophis who shows her around the palace, takes her on chariot rides through Thebes, and even teaches her to drive a chariot. After several bouts of illness, Pharaoh Amenhotep decides that he and Queen Tiye will travel to Dendra to pay homage to the temple of Hathor to worship the goddess in thanksgiving for his return to health. He names Thutmose to rule in his place.
In what seems to be a strange change of heart, Thutmose gives Nefertiti his chariot and horses, frees her from marrying him and tells her he will send her back to her family in Akhmin in three days. But in a stunning and terrifying turn of events, Nefertiti is accused of the sacrilege of killing Thutmose's beloved cat, Ta-Miu. She soon learns that she is the object of a vast conspiracy by Thutmose. Following her sham trial and imprisonment, Nefertiti must rely on her friends to help her outwit Thutmose and the priests of Amun.
Discussion
Esther Friesner has crafted an exciting story that captures the intrigue of the Egyptian Royal Court and provides young readers with an imaginative and informative look into life in 14th century BC Egypt. The novel, Sphinx's Princess incorporates much historical detail about Ancient Egypt.
It is believed that Nefertiti was born sometime around 1370 B.C. Historical evidence is not conclusive about Nefertiti's early life or her parentage. As presented in Friesner's novel, Nefertiti is believed to be the daughter of Ay, who was a member of the royal court and a possible brother of Tiye, the mother of King Akhenaton. His wife was Tey who was also Nefertiti's nursemaid but it's also possible she was Nefertiti's mother. Another theory, as presented in this novel, is that Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay and his first wife who died before Nefertiti became queen, making Tey her stepmother. Ay and Tey lived in the Middle Egyptian city of Achmim.
Friesner portrays the Egyptian court as full of intrigue especially involving Queen Tiye who was the Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep III. History describers her as an intelligent and a formidable woman who was involved in the administration of her husband's reign as Pharaoh. She was a trusted advisor to Pharaoh and often met with foreign dignitaries. In the novel, Queen Tiye is portrayed as a woman of considerable influence with the ability to influence the fate of even Pharaoh's most trusted advisors. Even her own brother is unable to persuade her to change her mind in betrothing Nefertiti to Crown Prince Thutmose. Queen Tiye and Amenhotep III had at least six children, of which Crown Prince Thutmose was the eldest son and expected heir to the throne. His death at a young age left his younger brother Amenhotep IV (Akhenaen) to become Pharaoh.
Nefertiti married Akhenaton (known as Amenhotep IV before he left Thebes) although it's uncertain if she married Akhenaton before or shortly after he became king in 1351 B.C. Both were likely very young teenagers when they married and she was Pharaoh's Great Royal Wife. Akhenaton also had an older brother, Crown Prince Thutmose. Over a period of ten years, Akhenaton and Nefertiti had six daughters: Meritaten, Meketaten who died when she was ten years old, and a third daughter, Ankhesenpaaten all of whom were likely born in Thebes. Ankhesenpaaten would become the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Tutankhamen. The family then moved to Akhetaten, where the Pharaoh decided to build a new royal residence. Akhenaton and Neftiti established a new religion which worshipped the sun disc, Aten. It was Egypt's first montheistic religion. It was during this move that Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaton which means "pleasing to Aten". In Akhetaten they had three more daughters: Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, and Setepenre.
It's not known when or where Nefertiti died and her mummy nor that of King Akhenaton have ever been found. However, on December 6, 1912 duing the ongoing archeological excavation at Tell el-Amarna, a bust of Nefertiti was recovered from what appeared to be the house of the sculptor, Thutmose. The bust, carved from limestone and painted, was discovered by German archeologist Ludwig Borchardt's team and currently resides in the Neues Museum, in Berlin, Germany. It offers an exquisite portrait of a queen who became synonymous with feminine beauty and whose name means
"the beautiful one has come forth"
Sphinx's Princess is divided into three parts labelled by the setting of the story: Part I Akhmin, Part II Abydos, and Part III Thebes. The author develops the setting and the characters in Part I, providing a backstory to Nefertiti by describing her family life in Akhmin and portraying her as a young girl who is strong, intelligent, and determined. In Parts II and III, Nefertiti's life in the royal court of Pharaoh Amenhotep III is imagined while portraying Egyptian beliefs and further developing both the characters and the storyline.
Because so little is known about Nefertiti, author Esther Friesner had the freedom to craft an engaging historical novel for young readers. In fitting with modern sensibilities, Friesner presents Nefertit as a strong, wilful young girl who is determined to forge her own path as much as is possible within Egyptian society. History tells us that Nefertiti learned to drive a chariot as there are numerous portrayals of her driving a chariot alone. It is possible that Nefertiti did learn to read and possibly write as this was not just limited to Egptian men. In the novel, Nefertiti is told by the scribe Henenu that she has no need to learn to read and write, but wealthy and elite Egyptian women could become scribes. Friesner incorporates this possibility into the novel with Nefertiti's mother having been a scribe (historians do not know for certain). Henenu does agree to teach Nefertiti to read and write, her lessons continuing even in the palace at Thebes.
In Sphinx's Princess, the story focuses on the fictional relationship between Nefertiti and Crown Prince Thutmose. The Crown Prince is portrayed as a somewhat cruel and suspicious young man, the result of his mother, Queen Tiye's influence. Henenu tells Nefertiti "He was a merry child, but then the queen began teaching him that a future Pharaoh must always be dignified, as befits a god on earth....Queen Tiye insisted on training all the joy out of him..." Thutmose is strong and handsome, the very opposite of his brother Amenophis who is skinny, with oversized hands, a soft belly and an elongated head. The latter is so unlike an Egyptian prince that Nefertiti initially believes he is a servant. Thutmose is portrayed as indifferent towards Nefertiti and self-absorbed. Like his mother, Thutmose views almost everyone with suspicion: he believes that Amenophis is trying to steal Nefertiti from him. Amenophis tells Nefertiti, "...my brother is afraid of me and it breaks my heart. He can't even look at me without believing that my only desire is to take everything away from him. His fear and bitterness and jealousy are a sickness that's eating away at him. " Thutmose's character is revealed when Nefertiti is framed for the disappearance of his beloved cat, imprisoned with an impending death sentence. Although initially Nefertiti believes he is attempting to help her, she quickly discovers this is not the case.
Friesner incorporates the religious beliefs of Egyptians of this time period through the character of Nefertiti. Almost every aspect of Egyptian life involved religious practices and beliefs and there are For example, the ship they take to Abydos has a sail painted with the image of the vulture goddess Nekhebet, who protects children, mothers and Pharaoh. The Egyptians believed in numerous gods and goddesses and this is shown through the character of Nefertiti. For example, she believes that the slave girl, Berett whose sister Mahala was executed will speak again, "Thoth will use his wisdom to heal you, Isis will comfort you, and the god of physicians Imhotep, will send me a dream telling me how we're going to find your voice again.". Nefertiti prays to the gods she believes in for the safety of her family as they journey back to Akhmin without her: "Blessed Isis, protect my father, my mother, my sister. Generous Hapy, give them a safe voyage home on your sacred river. Sweet Hathor, grant that we will meet again soon, in joy and peace...Great Sekhmet give me your strength to stand firm against anyone--anyone!-- who tries to change who I am into someone they think I ought to be..."
The Egyptian belief in the cat as a sacred animal is central to the storyline in Sphinx's Princess.At the dinner Thutmose has for his family in Pharaoh's absence, there is reference to Thutmose's beloved cat Ta-Miu being a "sacred animal" and the feast of Bast. Soon after, Nefertiti is accused of having killed Ta-Miu, a crime that is considered sacriligeous and punishable by death.
Sphinx's Princess is well written and offers an interesting treatment of a young Nefertiti. The novel's hanging ending encourages readers to consider the sequel, Sphinx's Queen which tells the story of Nefertit's continuing struggle to cope with royal politics and in particular Thutmose, the Royal Prince Nefertiti is expected to marry.
Nefertiti bust image:
By Philip Pikart - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8433730
Highly recommended.
Book Details:
Sphinx's Princess by Esther Friesner
New York: Random House 2009
288 pp.
Despite this, I thought Amy By Any Other Name was well written and fascinating. The story is told from the point of view of Amy inside Krystal's body. Amy and Krystal are complete opposites both in body type, looks and likes. Although both girls have been seriously injured, Krystal's body has suffered the more severe injuries. Amy not only has to cope with being in a different body that's injured but also with being in a body that is completely unsuited to the life she led as Amy. Amy essentially has to remake Krystal's body to fit the person she was in her own body. But she also now has Krystal's life, which was not going well and which was not a privileged as Amy's former life. Amy tells a few people whom she thinks she might be able to trust, what has happened to her. These people do not really believe her because the whole idea is preposterous. 
