Mara Daughter of the Ni le

1. Mara Daughter of the Nile By Acacia Shyr

2. Author Eloise Jarvis McGraw Awards: Got the New Berry Award 3 times Edgar Award from Mystery Writers Other Books: The Golden Goblet Moccasin Trail, 1952 The Moore Child, 1962 A Really Weird Summer, 1997 Birth: December 9, 1915 Died: November 30, 2000 Cool Facts: Gave money to the Wizard of Oz Hobbies: Drawing, dancing, acting, horse back riding, studying ancient Egyptian history, drill team, printmaking, stagecraft, directing, puppetry, ceramics, enamel-on-metal work, and many more

3. Main Characters Mara-a slave, interpreter, and spy Nekonkh- Captain of the Nile boat, The Silver Beatle Sheftu- a scribe, also a Lord in the Pharaohs palace and the confident of the Queen and son of Lord Menkau Innani- princess of Canaan. Speaks only Babylonian, is betrothed by Hatshepsut to Thutmose. Khofra- a warrior hero in charge of Hatshepsut’s troops Hatshepsut- Female Pharaoh, Daughter of the Sun Count Senmut- most powerful figure in Egypt Thutmose the second- half brother of Hatshepsut Chadzar- A Libyan slave in the service of Mara’s new master Nahereh- Mara’s master and brother of Senmut The Falcon Inn in Cutthroat Alley – Ashor the Innkeeper (and ex-head of Sheftu’s fathers stables) - Miphtahyah the Innkeepers wife (and Sheftus old nurse) - Nefer the Goldsmith - Sahure the juggler and double crosser. Djedet – the Head Priest

4. Plot Plot: Mara , a proud, smart, and beautiful slave girl. Finds herself sold unexpectedly to a new mysterious master who offers her freedom and a good life. She is asked to be a spy in Pharaoh's household for any who plot to overthrow the Pharaoh, a selfish , snobby, and stuck up Queen who only cares about wanting gold, slaves, and wastes time and resources by building more monuments to herself. On her way to Thebes to be an interpreter for a Babylonian princess, Innani, she meets a intriguing handsome young man, Sheftu. He too asks her to be a spy but to help over throw the Queen. She finds herself in a dangerous and overwhelming double spy role with only her wits to maneuver her way though her troubles. She falls in love with Sheftu and almost looses her love at a critical moment. Almost whipped to death, her unlimited loyalty is proven to all .

5. Conflicts Mara: Mara vs. Herself: Mara yearns for her freedom but she is a slave. She is penniless and only has her quick wit and intelligence to save her. She has to pretend to be an upper class lady while maintaining her double life as a spy. She has been bought by Nahereh to spy on Thutmose the second and to find out how he is receiving messages from his supporters. She has also been persuaded by Sheftu to carry messages to Thutmose by Sheftu. Sheftu: Sheftu vs. the Queen: Born into the most wealthy family in Egypt. He is in the Queens confidence but secretly plots to place Thutmose second on the throne. He has a secret identity as Sashai, a scribe, in charge of the revolution. Khofra: Troops vs. Queen: The warrior hero of Egypt who was chief general under Thutmose 1st. He is persuaded by Sheftu to come to Thebes as head of Hatshepsut’s troops and inspire them to be loyal to him so that when the time came, they would rise up and defeat the Queen. Innani: Innani vs. Egyptian Culture: The Canaanite princess who is betrothed to Thutmose 2nd by his sister. She doesn’t speak Egyptian so uses Mara as an interpreter. She quietly figures out that Mara is not interpreting what Thutmose was saying and also that Mara is having secret conversations with Sheftu. Reshed: Captain of the gate at the royal palace. He lets Mara out of the palace grounds thinking that she is visiting her sick brother and that Mara might have a relationship with him. The Falcon Inn: Where all the secret followers of the kings meet

6. Settings Settings: Mainly the story takes place in the beautiful country of Egypt. Through out the novel the characters travel from Menfe (near modern day Giza)and Thebes(which is modern day Luxor) to and fro.

7. Theme The battle to make the right decisions, take risks, and knowing who to trust for the good of Egypt.

8. Historical Figures Hatshepsut: Her father was Pharaoh Tuthmosis and her mother Queen Ahmose. She was a female Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty to rule Egypt, she was married to Thutmose her half brother, she didn’t marry again after he died so her daughter, Neferure, acted as her wife in the public rituals. She was going to marry her half brother Thutmose 3rd when he grew of age. Her reign was peaceful except for one war against Nubia. Most of the time she just built monuments in Egypt. She died in the 22nd year of her reign , and there were rumors that she got murdered by Thutmose 3rd. Thutmose 2nd: He died after a few years of his coronation, he was married to Hatshepsut Thutmose 3rd: until he was old enough, his aunt (Hatshepsut), royal widow of the king Thutmose 2nd, became Pharaoh

9. Research: The Nile River • The Nile is one of the two longest rivers on earth. • The length of the river varies over time and often changes course. • The elevation of the Nile is 1,134meters • The length of it is 6,695 kilometers (4,000 miles). http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Ancient-Egypt

10. Research: Hatshepsut'sTemples • The temple of Hatshepsut of Dynasty XVII was built just north of the Middle Kingdom temple of Mentuhotep Nebhepetre in the bay of cliffs known as Deir elBahri. • I n Ancient times the temple was called Djeseru, meaning the ‘sacred of sacreds’. • It was influenced by the style of the earlier temple at Deir elBahri, but Hatshepsut’s construction surpassed anything which had been built before both in its architecture and its beautiful carved reliefs. • The female pharaoh chose to site her temple in a valley sacred to the Theban Goddess of the West , but more importantly it was on a direct axis with Karnak Temple of Amun on the east bank. • It was only a short on the other side other mountain behind the temple, was the tomb which Hatshepsut had constructed for herself in the Valley of the Kings. http://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/temple-of-hatshepsut/

11. Resources Websites: www.google.com www.wikipedia.com www.dictionary.com www.wikipedia.com Books: Hatshepsut, His Majesty, Herself by Catherine M. Andronik Athenaeum Books 2001 Mara Daughter of the Nile By Eloise Jarvis McGraw World history Ancient Civilizations By Frances Marie Gipson, Stanley M. Burstein, and Richard Shek Holt 2006