And even so, there is still a lot about Sphinx’s Princess that is a good representation of Ancient Egypt so despite my annoyance I could mostly enjoy the setting and the story. But books are supposed to be better!Īnyway, if you don’t know the intricacies of Ancient Egypt or are not familiar with the real Nefertiti this probably won’t bother you. Okay, maybe, since I’ve yet to see a movie that could deliver on that. I was annoyed, to say the least–I specifically got the book for the history, since it appeared to focus on the history, and then it gets pieces of the history wrong? Come on! Is it too much to ask to just ONCE have a book that’s enjoyable and entirely historically correct? I guess a side effect of studying the history is that I notice inaccuracies and this book has a lot of them. If you’ve been on my blog at all before you’re probably aware of my love for all things Ancient Egypt which makes Sphinx’s Princess right up my alley. To be honest, I mostly bought it for the history. I wanted to like it but I was only expecting ‘alright’ and that’s what Sphinx’s Princess is: just good, okay, alright.

Reviews in general are also very mixed which makes it hard to really get a feel for it beforehand.

Friesner was a relatively unknown author to me and the book is older so I kind of figured it wasn’t that much to brag about or I’d have heard of it sooner. The book is about what I’d expected it to be since I wasn’t really expecting much. Nefertiti’s family is conned by her beyotch of an aunt into marrying her to the crown prince Thutmose but make a deal to delay the wedding so the novel focuses on Nefertiti’s trials and tribulations in the palace with the royal family. She is most known for her part in religious heresy with her second husband Akhenaten, but Sphinx’s Princess follows Nefertiti (meaning ‘the beautiful woman has come’) in her life before even her first husband. Sphinx’s Princess is a retelling/origin story of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti, one of the most famous–and mysterious–female figures in Ancient Egyptian history. Guess what, guys? We’re delving back into Ancient Egypt once again!īy this point that probably doesn’t come as a surprise…

Sphinx's Princess by Esther M. Friesner