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seregelda's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Incest, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and War
Minor: Ableism and Rape
mari1532's review
4.0
Brief Summary: This book examines the biographies and legacies of six women who ruled Ancient Egypt: Merneith (consort and regent in the First Dynasty), Neferusobek (Pharoh of the Twelfth Dynasty), Hatshepsut (consort and Pharoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty), Nefertiti (consort of the Eighteenth Dynasty), Tawosret (Pharoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty) and Cleopatra VII (Pharoh of Ptolemy Dynasty).
Thoughts: I had listened to Cooney's Great Courses on women in Ancient Egypt and was excited to dive into this book. I enjoyed it immensely. My favourite was the section focused on Nefertiti, who of the six women discussed is probably the second most recognizable. However, I did not know a great deal about her story. Cooney does an excellent job of discussing the known biographical information of Nefertiti as well as the new research concerning what may have happened to her after the death of her spouse. It is always fascinating to learn about new research.
I also enjoyed the discussion of Cleopatra. I think one of the things that is most difficult to remember when learning about Cleopatra in particular is that she was the loser of a conflict and as a result much of what we know about her is through the patriarchal and xenophobic Roman Generals who defeated her. As a result, Cooney's approach to discussing Cleopatra as a successful ruler was refreshing and a counterbalance to many of the sources from the period in which Cleopatra lived.
I will say that the thing I liked least about this book was how it kept linking the lack of favour for female rule in Ancient periods to today. I think that it was fine to draw that line in the introduction, but it felt a little repetitive after a while. Also, it is difficult to make historical figures out to be proto-feminists, which it did feel like Cooney was trying to argue in certain areas throughout the book. That is not to say that some of the six women discussed did not do things for the women in their societies, but I think it would be a leap to say that their use of power improved the lives of all women within society.
If you are interested in female rulers, Ancient Egypt, or history more generally this is an interesting read that will encourage you to seek out more information.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Classism
kloughlin's review
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Incest
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and War
Minor: Infidelity, Abortion, and Murder
fkshg8465's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
lauramusich's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Incest
Minor: Violence and Murder
melodyseestrees's review
2.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Incest
Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Murder
qwerty88's review against another edition
3.25
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Infertility, Misogyny, Suicide, and Murder
at least there are lots of footnotesmariakureads's review against another edition
3.0
In some cases I could see what she meant and in others, it felt more as if the author was driving her opinion on to the book which changed the flow of the paragraph for me.
Overall, I enjoyed how this book highlighted these six women, provided their backgrounds and story, even if it was still unclear as Egyptologists are still uncovering more so I'm very intrigued by what the book provided as a starting point of interest.
I do wish that some of what was mentioned in the footnotes were actually part of the book as it could have helped highlight certain moments as to why there is uncertainty within the community as to what were the events that lead certain moments to be written as such.
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Murder