Mara, Daughter of the Nile

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A D D E N D U M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . / / I know that an "addendum", is properly added at the END of a review or book -- but this strikes me as SO important, I want to put it at the beginning. Maybe an "addendum" at the beginning has a different name, ("Preface"?) but, anyway, whatever it's called, here's my new idea! / / THIS IS TRULY A GREAT BOOK! I WANT TO LEARN FRENCH....AND THOUGHT...HEY... what a GREAT way to learn the language....with a French translation of my one of my favourite books! I visited "Amazon.fe", to see if they had it...and they did! Alas -- it was not in French, but in German! As I can only learn one language at a time, (and, having had two years of high-school French, I at least know that "Allemande" does mean "German" in French, (or maybe "English"....but certainly, not French), I returned to "Amazon.com" VERY disappointed. So, this is a plea to the publshers....PLEASE print "Mara, Daughter of the Nile", in FRENCH, (too!)French-speaking readers will become as involved in Mara's dangerous, romantic adventures as much as readers of any other language....maybe evn more so! And for those of us who love "Mara", and want to learn French, a version of "Mara", a la langue Francais, would be magnifique! / / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ORIGINAL REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . / / I first found this book as a sixth-grader, in the library of the elementary school which I attended. I guess I found it because I was looking for a book on "Princess Margaret", (which the school library did not have), and, at that age, was not too familiar with the Dewey Decimal System. However I found that book, I am certainly glad I did! It is a true classic, and deserves to be better known! I am glad I am not the only one who wants to get this book into the hands of Steven Spielberg! Every time I watch "All My Children", I think how PERFECT the actresses who play "Bianca" and "Kendall" would be, as "Mara" and "Hatshepsut"! (Oh, if only David Selby were just a little younger.....he'd make a PERFECT "Lord Seftu"!) Every character in this book is so true to life! The story is, (as the flap of the hardcover edition which I finally bought, over 20 years ago, said), "broght to life with photographic detail." "Mara" is a love story, an adventure story, a story of palace intrigue, a slice of true history, a story with twists and turns and excitement. Every character in it is brought to life in "high relief", (I think that was on the flap of the hardcover edition as well). Everything one could want in a book is in this novel. Along with just about everyone else who has read it, I wanted it never to end.... A great thing about this book is that, even as a slave, Mara never loses her sense of herself as a person. That is one lesson we present-day "wage-slaves" should take to heart! But even more importantly -- especially in this post- 9/11 world -- is the true moral of this story. Yes, it is a love story, an adventure story, a story of heroism and bravery and excitement. But it is, above all, a story about PATRIOTISM -- what it really is, and what it really means. As Mara realizes at the end, (I paraphrase): "...Egypt is not the Nile. Egypt is not the Pharaoh. Egypt is US -- all the people who live here." This literary classic is more important than ever! It NEEDS to be better-known, to be filmed, to be read by even more people. Especially now, as we all suffer, in greater or lesser degree, from "post 9/11 shock". We who have read this book know it to be a true treasure...our own secret treasure, nestled in our minds as surely as Mara's scarab and ring were nestled in the folds of her garments! All too selfishly, perhaps, many of us, (myself included), have wanted to keep knowledge of this secret treasure of a book to ourselves. But Mara herself was quite selfish at the begin- ing of the book -- even though in her case, it was a self- protection device, and so, forgivingly understandable. But the rest of the world NEEDS this book -- especially now! (I begin to wonder how even Osama Bin Laden would react to it ...written as it is by a Westerner who so achingly understands the Middle East -- and even more, the Human psyche of ALL peo- ple -- and their wish to be free. In Mara's case, the wish to be free of slavery. In our case, the wish to be free of terrorism. One can only speculate how far the myriad and wonderful messages of this book -- the real meaning of Patriotism being the primary message -- could go, if only it were better known! This book is still in print after more than 30 years! This alone attests to its status as a classic. It is a perfect book in so many ways! Is Eloise Jarvis McGraw still alive? If not -- do her heirs have the film rights to this book? (I repeat, as do so many others -- somebody who has the authority: PLEASE get this book to Steven Spielberg!) Ms. Jarvis McGraw is an exquisitely gifted writer. I have also read her novel for adults, "PHARAOH", another take on the Hatsepsut story. It is a much longer book -- and has much magic to it as well. But it is not as good as MARA. For only "Mara, Daughter of the Nile" has Mara, Lord Sheftu, Innani, Nekonka, and all the other, unfor- gettable characters unique to this novel. Patriotism -- and unselfishness too -- are things we all need to have. Especially now! MARA, DAUGHTER OF THE NILE teaches these and other lessons in an ex- quisite, love-and-adventure story format! It rings true in every word! It rings true in every character! It is a story for all time. Read this book! And, hopefully, some day very soon -- see the movie, too!

Egypt is an amazing country. It's ancient history is evident in so many cities along the Nile. It's Temples, Monuments and Museums are really astounding, as is the Valley of the Kings. I loved reading this book as we travelled down the Nile. It was able to bring some of this ancient history we were seeing to life as we journeyed from Cairo to Aswan and on to Luxor. Set in the time of Queen Hatshupsut and Thutmose III, it tells the story of an extremely beautiful and very clever young slave girl who is desparately seeking her own freedom as she manipulates her two masters to achieve this goal. She remains strong to her cause until she find's herself falling in love with both the everyday Egyptian people and the proud and distinguished nobleman known as Sheftu. This is a story of patriotism, of heroism, and of love and loyalty to Egypt. It is set in a time when the world was so very different from today yet the people so similar. What an amazing little narrative. I don't believe it matters whether you're 16 or 60......this book will fully engage and intrigue you. I was very sad indeed when I finished reading it. I'm currently on the hunt for another novel that is as well written and enjoyable. Thank you Eloise McGraw

Well-written, fast paced story. A slave girl is caught up in struggle for power in ancient Egypt. Intrigue surrounds Mara. She doesn't know what to believe and who to trust as she is forced to spy in the court of Pharaoh. Fascinating story of courage, truth, commitment and loyalty as Mara discovers who she is and what is true. Well developed characters... An exciting story well worth reading. I recommend it highly. Recommended age: 16+

This is very well-written; I gave it a 4 star rather than 5 for two reasons. 1. The age is listed as 10 and up. Because of both the sexual tension in several places and the complicated dual spy roles, I think there are very few 10 year olds who are ready for this story. I would say 13 or 14 and up. 2. I found Mara an unlikeable character for about the first half of the book. She is conniving and dishonest and doesn't care about hurting others. She does have a character change during the story, so I ended up liking her, but it took a while. This was written in 1953, before they had found what they believe is Hatshepsut's mummy in 2007. If the book is being used as historical fiction to introduce that era of Egypt's history, that could be cleared up after the novel is read.

All the way around good. A nice romance, an engaging story, plenty of action, plot twists, well developed characters. A good look at ancient Egypt too.

Good plot twists

This book was so interesting and fun to read... I think most people would like it because of the amount of different things going on like love, action, and spies.

A classic favorite from childhood.

Fantastic🤘😝🤘

I am absolutely in Love with Hatshepsut and have been in love with her and Egypt since I was a child. When I read someone's review on this book who said they didn't like Hatshepsut and I couldn't understand why, so thought I should have a little read. I can understand where the person was coming from, but I still believe Hatshepsut to be an amazing strong woman of her time especially considering in today society it is still the man who has the bigger wage even if a woman is doing the same roll. This book was absolutely gripping, it was slow to start and I think I was even considering not completing during the first couple of chapters, but once it gets into the story it was hard to put the book down. Then when it drew towards the last few chapters I felt myself being upset that the story was coming to an end. This book made me feel like I was actually there and even made me shout out loud `Oh No!!!' at some parts. I would definitely recommend this book and think that I will read it again in the future as it was just amazing

I first read this book long ago - but I wanted it as I Loved the book. I was interested in ancient Egypt and this book gave a real feeling for the time. It was a love story within a VERY historical setting - and it echoed Uncle Tom's Cabin a bit.

I absolutely love this book!! I read the original in high school and have enjoyed the updated version now. Even if a person is not interested in Egyptian history (fiction), it's very well written and I highly recommend it. And I'm quite a fussy reader. Top on my list of good reading.

It's been around a while already but definitely a book worth reading! Teen literature, but also enjoyable when you are already grown up. Lots of adventure, romance and suspense.