The Last Heiress: A Novel of Tutankhamun's Queen

At the close of ancient Egypt's ambitious Eighteenth Dynasty, power, art, and learning have reached a zenith. Due to the nation's yearly flooding, steady harvests, and plentiful gold, Egypt is the richest nation in the world. Ruling over this paradise is the Pharaoh, considered a god-on-earth by his people.

However, on the death of Amenhotep III, his son, known to history as the Heretic King Akhenaten, enters into a war with the powerful priesthood of Amun and claims ownership of the souls of his people. He raises a new god for Egypt to worship and banishes the ancient gods from the land. The consequences of this will lead to the downfall of the ruling dynasty, the very family that had made Egypt into a mighty empire.

The delicate and beautiful third daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, Princess Ankhesenamun, knows nothing but power and luxury. Her mother, Nefertiti, rules Akhenaten's heart and other wives as her father rules the land. But when Nefertiti fails to give Akhenaten the son he desires, the princess's pampered world begins to fall apart. And at the height of Akhenaten's triumph over his people, an unexpected tragedy strikes the land, giving those oppressed a new reason to fight. Soon, the chaos outside the King's House explodes within, tearing the royal family apart.

Watching from the shadows is Prince Tutankhamun. His mother was a princess, but she died after his birth, and he has grown up on the edge of the king's favor because of Nefertiti's strong influence. The crown, which he feels is his by right, is expected to go to Nefertiti's oldest daughter, but Akhenaten refuses to name an heir. Attended as the son of a god but isolated from his family, Tutankhamun spends his days surpassing his tutors, gaining his omnipotent father's attention only by extreme achievement or reckless courage.

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