Author: Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Recommended Age: 15+
Date Published: 1953
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Summary: Mara is a beautiful slave girl living in ancient Egypt whose every thought is to run away from her cruel master and escape her life of slavery. When she receives the offer to be a spy for Queen Hatshepsut to prevent Thutmose III from ever reaching the throne, freedom seems close at hand. But Mara finds herself sympathizing with Thutmose and his cause, and her role as a double spy threatens her own life. The fate of Egypt rests in her hands.
Notes from The Radical Reader:
- Noble Characters: Mara is proud, rebellious, and unconcerned with the politics of ancient Egypt. That is, until her freedom rests on her discovering the spy in the Egyptian court and helping to raise Queen Hatshepsut to the throne. But both sides want Mara working for them, and she is caught in the middle.
- Captivating Plots: A double spy. Freedom if one contender gains the throne. Love and hope if the other wins. As Mara desperately tries to conceal her dual spy efforts, she finds herself increasingly loyal to one side, but both contenders will kill her if she fails.
- Elaborate Worlds: Set in Egypt during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut and the rise of Thutmose III, Mara is a slave girl whose only concern is for herself. But when the fate of Egypt seems to fall on her shoulders, can she bear the weight alone and survive in the end?
