Nefertiti is one of ancient Egypt’s most legendary rulers and renowned for her extraordinary beauty. The novel, Nefertiti by Michelle Moran, tells the story of a powerful woman’s rise and fall in Ancient Egypt through the eyes of her younger sister, Mutnodjmet. Their family has always provided wives to the royal family and the story begins with Nefertiti being married to Prince Akhenaten, who has come into line for the throne with the suspicious death of his older brother. The book charts her sister’s rise from teenage Queen to Egyptian goddess.
The sisters at times appear as pawns for their father’s ambitions and power. Nefertiti captivates her king-husband and essentially steals him from his first wife, and comes to command as much power as he as she struggles to birth him an heir. Their reign is most known for how they break from and outlaw the traditional religion of Egypt and elevate a minor deity, Aten, the sun god, to the sole religion of. Nefertiti and her family are constantly scheming against Kiya, the king’s second wife and the mother of his male heir.
Nefertiti and Amunhotep’s ambition and insecurity make them eager to enjoy unparalleled adoration from the people of Egypt. What follows after the marriage is an intense and often harrowing struggle for power among Egypt’s viziers, military leaders, and royalty, with the royal couple set on changing the course of Egyptian politics and worship for eternity.
Mutnodjmet meanwhile is trapped in the role of being the sister of Nefertiti. Known as “Mutny,” she is expected to remain by her sister’s side, assuaging her heated jealousy toward Kiya, supporting her relationship with the arrogant and reckless Akhenaten, and generally serving as confidante and comfort. Mutny, a talented herbalist, cannot deny her sister, and yet longs for her own family and a return to the gods they have abandoned.
Full of palace secrets, court banter, and struggles for power, Nefertiti really comes alive on the page. The characters are well rounded; three dimensional beings and you are pulled into their lives from the first sentence.
The novel provides an interesting solution to some puzzles in Egyptian history. There is much confusion about the Amarna heresy and its aftermath, not least because subsequent rulers tried to expunge the ‘heretic Pharaoh’ from the records. For example, the identity of the Pharaoh Smenkhare who succeeded Akhenaten is unclear, and in the novel Smenkhare is explained as a coronation name taken by Nefertiti on her accession as Pharaoh. The author provides many useful historical notes on her website which you can link to here.
GENRE: Historical Fiction
Link to discussion questions here
