Grove Park Author Publishes Her Second Book on the Pharaohs

Annette Duckworth aiming to solve an ancient mystery


Annette Duckworth

May 7, 2023

Grove Park based author, Annette Duckworth, has published a sequel to her historical novel "The King and her Children".

Five years later, in “The Napoleon of Egypt” she has picked up the story of pharaonic Egypt by looking at the events that followed the death of Hatshepsut, the subject of her first historical novel.

Much of her reign as pharaoh 3,500 years ago remains shrouded in darkness but Annette has attempted to shine a light on places where academic Egyptology cannot take us.

Despite the success of her rule, after which she was buried with honour, 30 years later statues of Hatshepsut were ruthlessly smashed and buried and her name was removed from all her monuments.

Annette notes that the geographical area and the time period covered by Ancient Egypt, roughly 3,000 BCE to 30 CE, is remarkably similar to that of the biblical record, and the combined information for these two areas is not available for other periods. Therefore, she believes it is logical that they should be considered together.

She says, “When we do this, it becomes apparent that Egypt had a very good reason for destroying Hatshepsut's memory. She had adopted a slave child and given him the status to wreak havoc on Egypt.”

The second book in the series picks up the story after Hatshepsut's death and focuses on the next pharaoh, Tutmose lll, known among Egyptologists as the 'Napoleon of Egypt' because he was the greatest empire builder of them all.

The question remains as to how he achieved this expansion which involved almost twenty years of non-stop warfare. Where did he find the manpower and how did he manage to leave Egypt far stronger than at the outset of his reign?

The city states of Canaan he soon brought under control, but the powerful states of ancient Syria were a different matter. These were elite civilisations with written records which had a formidable knowledge of war. At this time, Naharin, otherwise known as Mittani, was in the ascendancy in the area. An advanced civilisation, who with its introduction of the war chariot and lethally powerful composite bows, had even invaded Egypt and held it for 100 years.

How this conflict plays out is the subject of the book and what its author believes was Tutmose III’s secret weapon is revealed as well as how the biblical Exodus ties up with the decline of his empire after his death.

It was holiday in Egypt over a decade ago, when working as a physiotherapist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, that Annette first became fascinated by Egypt and its history.

Annette comments, “The books have been fun to research and write. They have taken ten years so far, and should not end here. But I hope you can enjoy the journey as much as I have.”