Saturday, March 21, 2015

The Pharaoh’s Daughter - Mesu Andrews

The Pharaoh’s Daughter
Mesu Andrews
WaterBrook, Mar 17 2015, $9.99
ISBN: 9781601425997

Daughters and sisters of Pharaohs, Anippe and Ankhe are different in outlook as the former is much sweeter than the acrimonious latter.  Anippe knows her personality was shaped when as a small child she witnessed her mother die giving birth, which taught her how fragile life can be as Anubis can take anyone without warning.  The siblings are horrified when General Horemheb announces that their ten years old brother King Tut will marry his twenty-something half-sister Senpa and be separated from them. 

With no say in the matter Anippe becomes the chosen bride of Captain Sebek.  Afraid that Anubis and the other Gods will snatch her in the birthing room, Anippe works on a ruse to fool her husband.  Taking advantage of Pharaoh’s orders to drown the Hebrew slaves’ first male born, Anippe abetted by the midwives rescues Moses as the baby floats in a handbasket on the Nile.  She renames him Mehy and with help from her sister and the slaves including her infant’s biological older sibling Miriam, raises him as her son.

This Treasures of the Nile biblical thriller fills the gap between when The Pharaoh’s Daughter adopts Moses and God orders Moses to free his people.  Ironically the storyline is timely with the recent reelection in Israel in which PM Netanyahu reversed the fear of the ancient Egyptians re the Hebrew slaves when he stated “Arab voters are streaming in huge quantities to the polling stations.”  Though the danger and opulence of royal life create a rich background; the cast makes this storyline seem real; starting with the title character who loves her adopted son she raises as Egyptian royalty, but also fears what the Gods might turn him into.


Harriet Klausner

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