Will I love The Woman Who Would Be King?

I love the bravery of this book. It’s not easy for academics to send work into the world that is authentic, imaginative, and academically solid. Cooney gives readers a peak behind the curtains, showing us what life might have been like for ancient Egypt’s most renowned female pharaoh, Hatshepsut.

Immersive and informative, with lovely prose and, best of all, thought-provoking. 

Professor Cooney’s work sheds light on what it meant to rule as a woman—it covers the rise and rule of another enigmatic and famous female ruler, Hatshepsut of Egypt. I found it to be an illuminating treatment of the challenges and complexities of female royals, and it influenced some of my thinking on the book on Cleopatra. It is a great book that depicts what ancient Egypt was like—from the ways of life, to the politics, to the exhausting rituals!