I found this difficult to finish. Not because it wasn’t well written, because it was. It was a bit dry for me. I remember growing up that I enjoyed the history of the pyramids, etc. of Egypt. Probably because of the Tutankhamen exhibits in the US during the early 1970s. Which is why I requested this title. Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

Im a big Marie Benedict fan so I was a bit disappointed by this book. Nice use of dual timelines but the story didn't excite like her books usually do. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict

The Daughter of Egypt is a historical fiction novel by Marie Benedict. The story is told in dual timelines, each from the point of view of two remarkable women, Hatshepsut and Lady Evelyn Herbert—daughter of Lord Carnarvon of High Clere Castle. In the early 1920s, Lord Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn were archeologists who, along with egyptologist Howard Carter, located the tomb of boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun and all of its incredible and valuable artifacts. During a time when British women were expected to marry and focus on societal duties, Lady Evelyn, a young twenty-something woman, had a passion for Egyptian history, the art of ancient Egypt and even joined her father during the excavation season on archeological sites.

I love that Marie Benedict created a story filling in the historical gaps around the rise to power and the reign of the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut. What I loved most about this novel were the chapters focusing on Hatshepsut’s life from her point of view. The story of Hatshepsut was erased from history following her reign and there are great mysteries around why this would happen.

While the novel appears to be focused on the power (or lack thereof) of women during these extraordinary periods in Egyptian history, much of the focus of the novel was a discussion of the ethical and moral basis for the ownership of the artifacts found by private American and British archeologists. Do the artifacts belong to the Egyptians (no matter who discovered them) as part of their history or do the artifacts belong to those that funded the excavation and preservation of the artifacts.

The novel left me thinking often about the real lives of Howard Carter, Lady Eve and Lord Carnarvon and excited to return to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Egypt wing.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press. for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

This historical fiction jumped back and forth between ancient Egypt and 1920s English egyptologists. Both stories were really interesting and engaging, but I kept wishing that I could just follow one story all the way through instead of going back and forth. The English aristocracy-egyptology storyline would be particularly appealing to Downton Abbey fans since much of that part of the story takes part in the estate where the show was filmed.

This book has history, mystery and a bit of romance. It’s historical fiction using a dual timeline each highlighting strong minded women in her time.

Full disclosure, Marie Benedict is one of my favorite authors. This is a fictional story about two women in two different time periods. In one time period, Hatsheput is a female ruler of Egypt in 3200BC but her history has been erased! In the other time period, 1920s, Lady Evelyn Carnarvon is deeply interested in Egypt's history and wants to be an archeologist. What stands out is how two courageous women push the cultural norms of their time to do incredible things. Marie Benedict did a lot of historical digging herself to write this story and make it relevant. I give this book 3.5+ stars! Big thanks for the ARC from Netgalley.com and St. Martin's Press.

I enjoyed this look at the life of Egypt's female pharaoh juxtaposed with the life of a woman archeologist looking for information about her life. Per usual, Benedict weaves historic information with insightful fiction to flesh out a story of a woman, or in this case women, that most people know nothing about.
Readers who enjoy historical fiction, Egyptology, and/or strong female characters will enjoy this novel.
Thanks, NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for an early peek.

Great book! Characters well developed! Several books recetly have been focusing on this part of the world. O wonder how authors sometimes pick their focus. Is it because that is the time frame that is considered ‘hostorical’…

An interesting story of archeology, the ethics of digs in foreign countries, and a woman (Lady Evelyn Herbert) who, along with her father Lord Carnarvon (George Herbert) and Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut. Lady Eve's storyline is interwoven with that of Hatshepsut, woman Pharaoh much misunderstood and often maligned, in spite of her strength and accomplishments for her people. Though both stories are captivating, I was disappointed because neither was taken far enough or deep enough to satisfy my curiosity. Also, unlike many of Marie Benedict's real life heroines, Lady Eve doesn't quite live up to their importance. Overall, a good read but not as exceptional as expected.

I usually really enjoy Marie Benedict’s books, and while Daughter of Egypt had some great parts, I didn’t love it as much as I hoped.

The story switches between two real women: Lady Evelyn (Eve) Herbert, who lived after World War I, and Hatshepsut, one of the only female Pharaohs in ancient Egypt. Eve is the daughter of Lord Carnarvon and has always been interested in Egypt and the digs her father helps fund with his friend, archaeologist Howard Carter. Even though her mother wants her to settle down and marry, Eve dreams of joining a dig and finding Hatshepsut’s lost tomb.

The book shows how women were often left out of history, both in ancient times and more recently. I really liked how it showed the differences between English and Egyptian cultures. You can tell Marie Benedict did a lot of research, and that part really stood out. Then middle of the book is where I felt it was too slow moving. I started to lose interest. Ancient Egyptian history is not my typical historical fiction niche, so that could be it too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read Daughter of Egypt.

I was so excited to get to read this early. I have long had an interest in ancient Egyptian history (including a fascination with Hatshepsut), and I have previously read and enjoyed novels by Marie Benedict. I enjoyed reading about Hatshepsut here and wouldn't have minded reading a book solely about her. However, I understand that the focus here wasn't necessarily her accomplishments but rather the mystery of her rise to power and the attempts to erase her legacy. I believe the author included the moments that best told that part of Hatshepsut's story. And I like what she wrote as the answer to the mystery.

Even though I was initially more interested in reading Hatshepsut's story, I did enjoy Lady Evelyn's chapters as well. I especially appreciated the growth of her character. Initially I found her quite self-centered, unable to think of anything but what she wished to accomplish in Egypt. I was happy to see the changes to her character.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of historical fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the early read.

Daughter of Egypt was a captivating and richly layered novel that swept me away from the very first page. I loved how the author wove together the lives of Lady Evelyn Herbert and Hatshepsut, showing the courage and determination of two women separated by centuries yet united in spirit. The historical detail was vivid without ever feeling heavy, and the mix of adventure, intrigue, and emotional depth kept the story moving at a perfect pace. Evelyn’s obsession with uncovering Hatshepsut’s truth felt both inspiring and heartbreaking, while Hatshepsut’s reign came alive in a way that made me want to learn even more about her. This book was both thrilling and empowering, a reminder of the women history tried to silence but never truly erased.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I always love Marie Benedict's focus on bringing lesser known historical women to light in her books, and this one was a great example of a focus on two women -- Lady Evelyn Herbert, a 20th century Brit who helped excavations in Egypt, and ancient Egyptian female Pharaoh Hatshepsut. The story alternates between their two viewpoints. Lady Evelyn was living in a time and place when women were expected to marry and be good housewives, not pursuing academic pursuits, however she falls in love with ancient Egpytian history and in particular the hunt for artifacts and the tomb of the lesser known female Pharaoh Hatshepsut. In her own time, Hatshepsut had to fight for her own power as a female leader.

This book taught me a lot of history I didn't know about both time periods. It raises tough questions about a country's right to determine the fate of it's own history and artifacts, and even it's right to lead it's own people (the book takes place during the time of a rise in Egyptian nationalism). Greed and glory are on the line for those who find the treasures from the ancient world, but whose glory should it be? Who was written out of this more modern day history? (In most cases, the local Egyptians themselves who did the hard work of assisting with the excavations.) For me the sign of a good book is when I find myself seeking knowledge even beyond the text -- pictures of the real life people, the stories of where these artifacts ended up. I was totally sucked into the story and the background of these two women divided by centuries. It made me want to hop on a plane to Egypt tomorrow to see these sites in real life!

The one caveat for me on this book is that the writing leans a bit too "women's fiction" for my liking. It's not complex literary fiction, but a book that could be read or enjoyed by the masses. It would make a good and accessible book club book and will have popular appeal. It didn't diminish my enjoyment and I think the story and characters are excellent.

This was a fascinating story about early archeology and the discovery of the tomb of King Tut which highlighted the power of women. This is another win for Marie Benedict.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Thank you Netgallery for proving this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful historical fiction from the viewpoints of two women, Hatshepsut, Egypt’s lost female pharaoh, and Lady Evelyn Herbert, who hoped for a world where no woman is ever erased.

Earlier this year, I read a different historical fiction regarding Eve’s search for Hatshepsut, but Marie Benedict’s version was thoroughly researched and it was athoroughly enjoyable read using the stories with both of these strong women’s POV.

I have tried multiple times to read this book. Unfortunately I can’t connect with it. I enjoy books by this author but this one missed for me. I realize this is due only to my personal preference. Thank you for the opportunity to review this ARC.

It was an enjoyable read. There was a lot of interesting historical archeological information combined with very interesting character development.

An interesting historical fiction book. I did learn much about Egypt and the archaeology of that time. I saw the King Tut exhibit so found that story line interesting bb

* arc review




this book was everything i needed and more. scratching my history itch with this.
this story follows our girl eve and our hatshepsut and the struggles that they have gone through. you know, men.
their power and the similarities between the two throughout this story had been what kept me reading.
such an amazing read!

"Daughter of Egypt" by Marie Benedict is a dual time line historical fiction story about Egypt's first female Pharoah, Hatshepsut, and Lady Evelyn Carnarvon, the woman who helped discover Tutankhamun's tomb. Lady Evelyn Carnarvon accompanied her father, Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle, Hampshire, UK and his associate Howard Carter to archeological digs in Egypt many times in the early 1920's. She had a passion for archeology, and was with them when the tomb of Tutankhamun was found. They were in fact, looking for the elusive tomb of Hatshepsut.
This added so much interest to the dual time line - the 1st Egyptian female Pharaoh, and the 1st female archeologist looking for her tomb.

I enjoyed this book very much, and after reading it wanted to learn more about Lady Evelyn Carnarvon, and Hatshepsut. it is a very interesting and readable book. 4 Stars because of the abrupt ending that left me wondering if there is a sequel in the works? I hope so!