Mara, Daughter of The Nile

Hatshepsut summons Princess Inanni to Egypt in order to play a malicious joke on Thutmose. How does this cruelty backfire on the queen?

Mara’s flair for subterfuge and fakery serves her well as a spy but makes it hard for her to befriend others. How does her duplicity damage her relationships with Sheftu and Nekonkh?

Mara’s two “masters” (Nahereh and Sheftu) are rich nobles, each of whom is aided by a brawny commoner (Chadzar and Nekonkh). Compare and contrast the attributes of Nahereh and Sheftu. How do these two characters influence Mara’s moral choices as she “plays both ends”? What do their attributes imply about their respective masters—Hatshepsut and Thutmose?

How do Princess Inanni’s stories about her homeland, the “barbarian” province of Canaan, influence Mara’s view of her own country? Why is Inanni relieved that she will not have to live as an Egyptian?

Sahure the juggler is revealed as a double agent who, like Mara, shuttles back and forth between Hatshepsut and Thutmose. However, he is presented as a villain while Mara is hailed as a hero. What, for Mara, identifies his actions as evil, and what does his villainy tell her about herself?

Sheftu believes that the pharaoh whose tomb he has been ordered to rob would be happy to sacrifice his gold to help Thutmose III. How does this idea parallel the sacrifices that living characters such as Mara make throughout the novel?

The Queen Hatshepsut of McGraw’s novel is accused of having little interest in foreign conquest and focusing instead on building numerous public works. Using events from the novel, make the case that Hatshepsut is unfairly maligned by the novel’s heroes.

Why does Mara not reveal her secrets to Sheftu earlier? What makes it difficult for her to trust him, despite her love for him and her sympathy for his cause?