The Egyptian Royals Collection (60 page)

Nefertiti
brings a fascinating chapter of Egyptian history to life. This guide is intended as a starting point for your discussion of this captivating story of two sisters, one of whom is destined to rule Egypt.

1. Thousands of years after the Pharaoh’s ruled Egypt, this ancient civilization continues to fascinate the world. Why were you drawn to Nefertiti? What aspects of Egyptian life do you find interesting?

2. History remembers Nefertiti as a great beauty. What other parts of her personality are highlighted in
Nefertiti
? How does she use her good looks to her advantage? How do they hurt her? Have you ever known a woman like Nefertiti? Overall, is this a positive portrayal of her as a queen? As a sister?

3. Discuss Mutnodjmet and Nefertiti’s relationship throughout the novel. In what ways are they jealous of each other? What makes two women who are raised together differ so greatly? What traits do they have in common? Can you think of a relationship you’ve had with a sister or friend that was similar?

4. Nefertiti knows she must convince Amunhotep that she is more than his mother’s choice of bride. How does she do it? How does Kiya attempt to keep him? What do their powerful fathers do to create an intense rivalry between these women? What is the nature of the Pharaoh’s relationship with each? Who do you think Amunhotep loved more? Why?

5. Do you feel Amunhotep is a tragic figure or a villain? What makes you think this? How would he be received today?

6. General Nakhtmin is impressed by Mutnodjmet from their first meeting, while she pretends to be uninterested in him. Why? What finally convinces her to admit her love for him? Why do Nefertiti and Amunhotep oppose the marriage?

7. Was Nefertiti’s father, Vizier Ay, a wise man or was he a slave to his ambitions? Discuss the level of loyalty he asks from Mutnodjmet. In what ways does she disappoint him? In what ways does their relationship seem modern?

8. When the Elder dies Amunhotep becomes Pharaoh of both Upper and Lower Egypt—meaning he is free to do as he wishes. Nefertiti is entitled to the dowager queen’s crown but doesn’t take it. What does she do instead? Why doesn’t Nefertiti demand this symbol of all she has worked to attain? What does it mean for her family?

9. Desperate for a son, Nefertiti asks Mutnodjmet to take her to visit a shrine to Tawaret, the hippo goddess of birth. What does the fact that Neferetiti calls on the old gods in times of trouble say about her belief in Aten? Why does she ask her sister to pray for her? Discuss the importance of religion throughout the novel.

10. When the plague comes to Amarna, Mutnodjmet decides to stay instead of leaving for the safety of Thebes. Why? What would you have done in her position?

11. What happens to Amunhotep? How is his fate justified? Does Nefertiti deserve what happens to her? Why or why not?

Q: What inspired you to write about a queen who’s been dead for more than three thousand years?

A: My love-affair with Egyptology began in the summer of 1998 on an archaeological dig in Israel. While our team was working to unearth an ancient trading post, we came across a scarab, proof that the Egyptians had traveled north, perhaps selling cloth, incense, or Nubian gold. Looking at the mysterious lapis stone in the dirt, untouched for who knew how many years, I was hooked. It wasn’t long before I found myself wandering through Egyptian exhibits in Los Angeles, London, and Berlin, where the stunning bust of Nefertiti rests behind a case of polished glass. Even three thousand years later it fills the viewer with the same awe that citizens of Amarna must have felt when they saw her. I wondered who she was, and what her story must have been. As I began research into Nefertiti’s life, I was surprised to discover that while many books and internet sites were devoted to her, there were no fictionalized accounts exclusively about her reign—one of the most enigmatic of any Egyptian Pharaoh-Queen. Spurred on by Nefertiti’s untold story, I visited Egypt on an historical tour two years later, gathering books and writing down impressions of what had once been the most powerful kingdom in the ancient world.

Q: Did Mutnodjmet really exist?

A: Yes, Mutnodjmet really existed, as did Nefertiti, Queen Tiye, Akhen-aten, Vizier Ay, Lady Kiya, General Horemheb, General Nakhtmin … Suffice it to say that almost every character in the book was based on an historical personage.

Q: So how much of the story is true?

A: While the main historical events are accurate, such as Ay’s rise to power, Akhenaten’s obsession with Aten, the dream of Amarna, and Nefertiti’s unparalleled influence at court, liberties were taken with personalities, names, and minor historical events. For instance, no one can be certain how Mutnodjmet felt about her sister’s vision of an Egypt without the Amun Priests, but in an image of her found in Amarna she is standing off to one side, her arms down while everyone else is enthusiastically embracing Aten. In a period where art attempted to portray reality for the first time, I found this significant. And while Nefertiti did have six daughters with Akhenaten, she never—so far as we know—produced twins the way she did in the novel. Historical uncertainties revolve as well around the questions of whether Amunhotep the Younger ever had a coregency with his father or whether Nefertiti ever did rule on her own. These are questions that can only be answered by conjecture, and I went with what seemed most plausible given the historical evidence.

Today, some of these questions could be answered by a firm identification of the Amarna mummies. Although much of Kiya’s funerary equipment was found in her son Tutankhamun’s tomb, little to nothing remains that was Akhenaten’s or Nefertiti’s. How old was Nefertiti when she died? What killed Tiye? Dr. Joann Fletcher contends that a cache of mummies found in tomb KV35 are the bodies of Nefertiti and the Dowager Queen. If so, they were stunning beauties even in death.

Q: Isn’t there evidence that Nefertiti was banished to the Northern Palace toward the end of her husband’s reign?

A: No. This belief was predicated upon an inscription on the Northern Palace which archaeologists believed read “Nefertiti.” The name had been removed from the palace while Nefertiti was still alive and replaced with the name of Princess Meritaten. If Princess Meritaten had truly removed her mother’s name from the palace, it would indeed seem to indicate a daughter taking the place of her mother. However, the inscription was later discovered to actually read “Kiya.” After Kiya’s death, Nefertiti and her daughter set out to erase the existence of Nefertiti’s only real rival. Unfortunately, many internet sites haven’t taken the time to update their information, so the erroneous theory of Nefertiti’s banishment persists.

Q: Is it true that Akhenaten had Marfan Syndrome?

A: There is absolutely no anthropological or DNA evidence to suggest this was the case. Those who believe that Akhenaten had Marfan Syndrome—a genetic disorder characterized by unusually long limbs and curvature of the spine—do so simply because some of his statues show a man with long arms and an elongated head. It is essential to remember, however, that Akhenaten purposefully changed the artistic style which all of his predecessors had used, creating a new style known today as Amarna Art. For as many images as there are of Akhenaten with a long, leonine face and feminine hips, there are just as many images from when he was a child displaying none of these features. During the Amarna period, all of Akhenaten’s family begins to appear with long arms, elongated heads and large hips, even Nefertiti. It is highly unlikely that the entire royal family had this connective tissue disorder, particularly in light of Nefertiti’s bust which resides in Berlin and shows none of the characteristics that those with Marfan Syndrome typically display.

Q: What evidence is there to prove that Nefertiti ever ruled as Pharaoh on her own?

A: This depends on which Egyptologist you ask and what camp they fall into. Amunhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten, and when Nefertiti became coregent with her husband she changed her name to Ankhkheperura-Neferne-feruaten. It is not beyond the limits of plausibility, then, to imagine that Nefertiti later became Pharaoh Ankhkheperura-Smenkhkara, who ruled briefly after Akhenaten’s death. A beautiful gold figurine in Tutankhamun’s tomb depicts a female Pharaoh (not a queen) walking atop an ebony leopard. Egyptologists have dated the figure back to Akhenaten’s reign, which means there is only one possibility of who this feminine ruler of Egypt could be: Nefertiti. There is also evidence of foreign correspondence during Pharaoh Ankhkheperura-Smenkhkara’s time that points to Egypt’s Pharaoh being Nefertiti. Readers who wish to find out more can consult the work of Dr. Joann Fletcher, who wrote
The Search for Nefertiti: The True Story of an Amazing Discovery
and was featured on the Discovery Channel. Dr. Fletcher stirred up quite the controversy with this book and her announcement that she had discovered the body of Nefertiti.

Q: In the novel you write about the ancient Egyptians using toilet seats and copper razors. Is this accurate?

A: Yes, these and other “modern conveniences” in the novel have been around for more than three thousand years! Dating as far back as 1500 BCE, palaces were more comfortable than you or I might imagine. The wealthy shaved with copper razors, and bathrooms were discovered in Amarna equipped with toilet seats that matched the limestone sink bowls. Royal women regularly applied face cream, eye shadow, and lipstick. Women had elaborate containers for their makeup, and very wealthy women carried handheld mirrors made of polished brass the way women carry purses today. In fact, it might surprise you to know that much like today’s celebrities, one of Nefertiti’s daughters even had her own perfume line.

Q: If Nefertiti ruled on her own, then who would have been her queen?

A: Just as Hatshepsut made herself Pharaoh and her daughter queen, Nefertiti would have named her own eldest daughter Meritaten as her consort. Surprising though this may seem, rulers of Egypt searched for balance—the feminine with the masculine—and in religious ceremonies it was necessary to have a female part which Pharaoh, as a “man,” couldn’t play.

Q: If there is evidence that Mutnodjmet married the general Horemheb, who later became Pharaoh, why does she fall in love with general Nakhtmin in the novel?

A: I chose to have Mutny fall in love with General Nakhtmin because there is circumstantial evidence that Horemheb took Mutnodjmet by force as his wife. If that was the case, then theirs was certainly not a love match. However, Mutny might have been married, or at least in love, before Horemheb made her his queen. Horemheb married Mutnodjmet after her family died, and she was the last royal link to the throne. Since the book focuses only on Nefertiti’s reign, I wanted to depict Mutnodjmet’s early life when she married for love and not because she had to.

Q: You mentioned that there is circumstantial evidence that Horemheb married Mutnodjmet by force. What evidence would that be?

A: The circumstantial evidence comes from the fact that Horemheb had no royal link to the crown. There are Egyptologists who contend that Horemheb used the marriage to legitimize his ascension to the throne. To further strengthen his reign, he quickly destroyed everything that Nefertiti and Akhenaten had built. I couldn’t fathom Mutny marrying willingly and then standing quietly by while the monuments that were supposed to write her family’s name in eternity were destroyed, block by block. Horemheb was methodical in his attempt to erase her family’s name from history, and he very nearly succeeded.

However, there are just as many Egyptologists who would argue that this is all—as I pointed out—circumstantial, and that there is no hard evidence of the marriage being unwanted by Mutny. As I wrote in my Author’s Note at the end of the novel, I went with what seemed most convincing to me.

Q: Are the poems written by Akhenaten in the novel real?

A: Yes, they are translations of his
Hymn to the Aten
, which is considered one of the finest examples of Egyptian poetry ever discovered. It also has similarities to Psalm 104 in the Bible.

Q: In the novel, many of the names are changed from what they were in Nefertiti’s time. Why is that?

A: As I explain in the Author’s Note, some of the names were changed for convenience. For example, I thought that the city of Akhetaten, which Akhenaten built, sounded too close to his own name. In order to avoid confusion, I used the modern day name of Amarna. In the case of Thebes, Egyptians would have known the city as Waset, but I chose to go with the name more people would be familiar with today.

Q: Was there really plague in ancient Egypt?

A: Yes. In fact, in 2004,
National Geographic
published an article about tracing the bubonic plague’s fleaborne bacteria to ancient Egypt. As far back as 3500 BCE, the Nile rat was probably transferring these deadly bacteria to humans, who had disturbed its habitat and settled near the river. The
Ebers Papyrus
, written nearly three hundred years before Nefertiti’s reign, describes a disease that produces a bubo, going on to say that “when the pus has petrified, the disease has hit.” This medical text was almost certainly describing the disease we know now as the bubonic plague.

Q: Your experience as a debut author has been one that many writers might dream of. Within the first month of publication, Nefertiti landed on a national bestseller list, and has now been translated into more than twenty languages. Do you have any advice for aspiring novelists?

A: Learn as much as you can about the business of writing. Because we writers feel an emotional connection to our stories, we tend to feel that publishing is also emotional. If I’m nice, they’ll publish me. If I send them chocolate with my query letter, they’ll see what a good person I am. But for publishers it isn’t personal, and most of the time it’s not emotional either. It’s about numbers and sales and—at the end of the day—revenue for the company. So learn everything there is to know about the business before you send off your material, especially once your material is accepted for publication. That’s when business savvy matters most, and knowing important publishing terms like galleys, remainders, and co-op is extremely important when trying to figure out how you can best help your book along in the publication process. Learn everything you can, but above all, keep writing!