Historical Fiction: Ancient Egypt

The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty

Daevabad has fallen. After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people. Nahri and Ali, now safe in Cairo, face difficult choices of their own. As peace grows more elusive and old players return, Nahri, Ali, and Dara come to understand that in order to remake the world, they may need to fight those they once loved.

Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer

Crossing three millennia to Pharaonic Egypt, this tale returns to that land's essences - the war, magic, gods, death and reincarnations, the lusts, ambitions, jealousies, and betrayals.

Three Novels of Ancient Egypt: Khufu's Wisdom, Rhadopis of Nubia, Thebes at War by Naguib Mahfouz

Mahfouz reaches back thousands of years to bring us tales from his homeland's majestic early history—tales of the Egyptian nobility and of war, star-crossed love, and the divine rule of the pharoahs. In Khufu's Wisdom, the legendary Fourth Dynasty monarch faces the prospect of the end of his rule and the possibility that his daughter has fallen in love with the man prophesied to be his successor. Rhadopis of Nubia is the unforgettable story of the charismatic young Pharoah Merenra II and the ravishing courtesan Rhadopis, whose love affair makes them the envy of all Egyptian society. And Thebes at War tells the epic story of Egypt's victory over the Asiatic foreigners who dominated the country for two centuries.

Kleopatra by Karen Essex

High drama and ancient history combine in this novel of the early life of Egypt's infamous queen, at once a beautiful seductress, brilliant politician, and the most powerful ruler of her time.

Cleopatra's Shadows by Emily Holleman

Abandoned by her beloved sister Cleopatra and an indifferent father, young Arsinoe must fight for her survival in the bloodthirsty royal court when her half-sister Berenice seizes Egypt's throne. To survive, she escapes the palace for the war-torn streets of Alexandria. When their deposed father Ptolemy marches on the city with a Roman army, both daughters must decide where their allegiances truly lie, and Arsinoe grapples with the truth: that the only way to survive her dynasty is to rule it.

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped by all that her strong personality will temper the young Amunhotep's heretical desire to forsake Egypt's ancient gods, overthrow the priests of Amun, and introduce a new sun god for all to worship.

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

In ancient Egypt, a forgotten princess must overcome her family's past and remake history. Nefertari has been left to run wild in the palace, but catches the eye of the Crown Prince. All of Egypt opposes this union, and political adversity sets the country on edge.

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

Transport to the colorful and dangerous court of imperial Rome and into the remarkable lives of two young captives-- the children of Cleopatra, Egypt's most powerful and notorious ruler, and her lover Marc Antony. Taken in chains to Rome as ten-year-olds, twins Selene and Alexander cling to each other, and to the hope of one day returning to their rightful place on the throne of Egypt.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-García

The Mayan God of Death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.

River God by Wilbur Smith

A romance in Egypt in 2000 BC. Tanus, a young warrior, loves Lostris, the daughter of Lord Istris, the grand vizier. But the father is against the match, wanting his daughter to marry Pharaoh Moamose. The story is told by Taita, a eunuch in Lostris' employ.

Warlock by Wilbur Smith

In the wake of a sixty-year war over the reign of the kingdoms of Egypt, two young pharaohs have risen to claim power, but only one can succeed, deciding the fate of his empire forever...

The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith

In Ethiopia, the search for a pharaoh's treasure by Royan Al Simma, a beautiful Egyptologist. When her map is stolen and her husband murdered by a German villain, Royan enrolls the services of an adventurous English nobleman. A dangerous expedition as the tomb is booby-trapped.

The Quest by Wilbur Smith

Egypt is struck by a series of terrible plagues that cripple the Kingdom, and then the ultimate disaster follows. The Nile fails. The waters that nourish and sustain the land dry up. Something catastrophic is taking place in the distant and totally unexplored depths of Africa from where the mighty river springs. In desperation Pharoah sends for Taita, the only man who might be able to win through to the source of the Nile and discover the cause of all their woes. None of them can have any idea of what a terrible enemy lies in ambush for The Warlock in those mysterious lands at the end of their world.

Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie

Egypt in 2000 BC. At the foot of a cliff lies the broken, twisted body of Nofret, concubine to a ka-priest. Young, beautiful, and venomous, most agree that it was fate-- she deserved to die like a snake! But at her father's house on the banks of the Nile, the priest's daughter Renisenb believes that the woman's death is suspicious. Increasingly, she becomes convinced that the source of evil lurks within their household-- and watches helplessly as the family's passions explode in murder...

Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Cleopatra Selene, the only surviving daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, recalls her life of pomp and splendor in Egypt and, after her parents' deaths, capitivity and treachery in Rome.