The Beat: Hatshepsut: The Lost Pharaoh

I love Carole Wilkinson’s historical fiction writing and the latest in this Black Dog series is no exception. Wilkinson has chosen another fascinating historical character to write about after her Ned Kelly’s Jerilderie Letter. Hatshepsut is such a fascinating historical character, and her achievements are all the more astonishing considering she was a woman. Having factual historical information interspersed with fiction chapters really helps younger readers to identify and get a more authentic feel of the period and events. The character development of Hatshepsut in the fictional insets is an integral part of the appeal of this book and allows the reader to get a real idea of what kind of world she was born into and how she became one of the most famous female personalities in Ancient Egypt. Readers 10 plus who are interested in Egypt and history will find this an exciting read and all of the supplementary materials, colour illustrations and timelines, mean that this book is a great resource for school projects as well. I particularly liked the last chapter where Wilkinson talks about what happened to Hatshepsut’s monuments after the Egyptian Empire collapsed and how in 2007, Egyptologists think they found her mummified remains. Thoroughly recommended for all lovers of history.