September 2008: The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

[michellemoran]

Yes! Ramesses's family was very closely linked with the god Set. If I could write The Heretic Queen over again, I would probably make that a thread of the novel. There's always so much to include that it's hard to decide what to keep, what to leave, and which parts deserve creative license.

And the The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egyptis one of my favorite books on ancient Egypt. It's such a quick and handy guide (plus, Nefertiti is on the cover .

[Telynor]

Yes! Ramesses's family was very closely linked with the god Set. If I could write The Heretic Queen over again, I would probably make that a thread of the novel. There's always so much to include that it's hard to decide what to keep, what to leave, and which parts deserve creative license.

And the The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egyptis one of my favorite books on ancient Egypt. It's such a quick and handy guide (plus, Nefertiti is on the cover .

It's a very handy guide, I'm dipping into it constantly when I'm watching the course I have on Egypt on DVD. I am such an Egyptian nerd.... As a teen I started teaching myself hieroglyphs and painting the walls of my bedroom with Egyptian murals. And I tend to read everything that I can get my hands on about Egypt.

Oh, I did want to tell you that I really enjoyed the bit with the harp playing that you included -- that was a nice touch.

[michellemoran]

Thank you, Telynor! I couldn't help myself ;] And I know that compliments from you are exceptionally hard to come by (and for good reason), so I appreciate it even more.

With so much knowledge on ancient Egypt, have you ever considered writing an historical novel (maybe you already are)? I meant to post this tidbit earlier today, but I didn't get a chance. If you - or anyone else - are in the midst of querying agents/editors, Heather Proulx at Crown is actively looking for historical fiction. She just purchased three books from debut authors, and she recently became my editor.

[Telynor]

Thank you, Telynor! I couldn't help myself ;] And I know that compliments from you are exceptionally hard to come by (and for good reason), so I appreciate it even more.

With so much knowledge on ancient Egypt, have you ever considered writing an historical novel (maybe you already are)? I meant to post this tidbit earlier today, but I didn't get a chance. If you - or anyone else - are in the midst of querying agents/editors, Heather Proulx at Crown is actively looking for historical fiction. She just purchased three books from debut authors, and she recently became my editor.

I've thought about writing a novel, but never was quite so crazed as to actually go through with it. If I were, I would wait until I had taken a long, good trip through Egypt (I firmly believe in write about what you know, especially when it comes to novels). It's something that I always wanted to do, and there is a company that will arrange them in small groups, with BOB BRIER as your lecturer/guide. It would cost a small fortune, but oh! What a trip that would be.

[michellemoran]

There is a company that will arrange them in small groups, with BOB BRIER as your lecturer/guide. It would cost a small fortune, but oh! What a trip that would be.

You know, sometimes that's what small fortunes are for! I did such a trip (not with Bob Brier, but with well known Greek/Roman archaeologists) this summer and retraced the journey of Odysseus from Homer's The Odyssey. The trip definitely fell into the small fortune category, but I figured, what else is the money for (in my case anyway)? I'm not interested in a plot with a view at the cemetery. I'd rather see the views now.

[Helen_Davis]

One of the forum members had a great question she PMed me today and I thought I would share it. She wanted to know whether a woman's virginity was necessary for marriage in ancient Egypt, since Nefertari loses her virginity to Ramesses before they marry. The short answer is no. In fact, if Nefertari had lost her virginity to someone else, she would still have been considered a suitable wife for Ramesses. Sometimes Pharaohs even took women who already had children. Quite a few things were reversed in ancient Egypt. The historian Herodotus (who admittedly lived after Nefertari) wrote:

The Egyptians appear to have reversed the ordinary practices of mankind. Women attend markets and are employed in trade, while men stay at home and do the weaving! Men in Egypt carry loads on their head, women on their shoulder. Women pass water standing up, men sitting down. To ease themselves, they go indoors, but eat outside on the streets, on the theory that what is unseemly, but necessary, should be done in private, and what is not unseemly should be done openly.
(Herodotus II: 33-37)

I've read that women in ancient Egypt had a lot more rights than women in the other ancient cultures.

[michellemoran]

Andromeda, you're right. When male travelers from other cultures would arrive in Egypt they were often shocked!

[Helen_Davis]

Yes, I've read that too. One of the things the 19th century feminists pointed out was that women in ancient Egypt had more rights than women in that time period.

[Tinuviel]

Michelle, I really enjoyed this book. Like a lot of you guys, I haven't read that many novels set in ancient Egypt (though I have read more set in ancient Greece and Rome) so this was really interesting to me. I think I still like Nefertiti better, but it was definitely a good read. I'm a history major and one of the time periods I'm specializing in is ancient Rome, so I'm really looking forward to Cleopatra's Daughter

[michellemoran]

Thank you so much, Tinuviel! Isn't ancient Rome fascinating? I'm pursuing my Ph.D in history, albeit v...e...r...y slowly (who knew that writing a book a year would take... well... a year?!), and my focus is ancient Rome. I wish I could spend more time taking classes. I'm afraid at this rate I'll get my doctorate when I'm fifty-two

Do you think you'll go on for a Masters or Ph.D?