The volume by Annamaria Zizza, which inaugurates the series of historical novels “Vulcano”, will be released in all Italian bookstores on Friday, March 10.
THE QUEEN OF THEBES
Widowed by Pharaoh Tutankhamun, his young and beautiful wife Ankhesenamun sends a letter to the king of the Hittites devising a plan to ensure the lineage and starting a story full of intrigue, forbidden love and adventures.
The story begins in Thebes, the capital of Egypt, in the 14th century BC. The beautiful young Queen Ankhesenamon, widow of Tutankhamun and childless, in an attempt to pacify her country and give an heir to her kingdom, makes a dangerous and unscrupulous move: she orders the scribe Menthuotep, a Babylonian with a dark and painful past, to send a letter to the king of the Hittites, asking him to let her marry one of his ten sons. Both the powerful vizier Ay and the general Horemheb, who aspire to the throne, are left in the dark about the initiative. The Hittites are surprised by the content of the letter: they think it is a trap by the Egyptians and delay, but in the end they are convinced by Menthuotep, sent by the queen as ambassador, and accept the proposal. They have been waiting a long time to conquer Egypt. They know they are stronger in battle because they know the secret of tempering iron, still unknown to other peoples, who continue to forge bronze to build their weapons. The Hittite king, who married the Babylonian Malnigal, an expert in black magic, as dangerous as it is ambiguous, will send one of his sons, Zannanza, but the conclusion of the story will be surprising for all the protagonists.
Between intrigues and forbidden loves, personal dramas and adventures, a true and fascinating story unfolds, previously unknown, told in an engaging, fast-paced style full of twists and turns.
THE JUDGMENT OF DACIA MARAINI
The novel's back cover was beautifully written by the writer Dacia Maraini, who described the work and the author as follows: «Annamaria Zizza tells us a compelling story, ignored by books: Egypt in dynastic crisis, the story of a woman who rebels against her destiny by making a courageous gesture and challenging the laws of her time. We are in the period of full expansion of the Hittite empire, equipped with a formidable and still unknown weapon: the tempering of iron. An evocative narration that uses tight dialogues that outline the characters with a sure and cutting hand. A singular novel on the history of two empires and two women, Ankhesenamon and Malnigal, historically distant from us, but close in courage and determination.»
The novel The Queen of Thebes appears at a particularly significant moment in the history of Egypt: one hundred years ago, in 1923, the shrine of Tutankhamun's tomb, discovered by Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings, was officially opened. The event was of worldwide significance and triggered a real media frenzy, with articles, publications and successful films, all centered on the figure of the young pharaoh, his family and the curse that hovered over his tomb. In the wake of the centenary of the opening of a virtually untouched tomb with a very rich collection, the inauguration of the prestigious GEM (Grand Egyptian Museum) in Giza, the largest and most important Egyptian museum in the world, has been planned for 2023: an extraordinary event that will attract journalists and visitors from all over the world and that will put the history and culture of the ancient Egyptians back at the center, of which we have extensive and important testimonies in Italy (Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Turin, National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Civic Museum of History and Art in Trieste, Museum of Archaeology in Genoa, the Egyptian Academy in Rome, the Egyptian Museum in Florence and in other museums in Bologna, Benevento, Parma, Venice, Syracuse and Milan).
THE AUTHOR
Annamaria Zizza lives and works in Catania. Passionate about Near Eastern civilizations, she collaborates with the Egyptology and archaeology magazine “Mediterraneo antico” and has published the historical novel Lo scriba e il faraone (2021). She has edited some cycles of “Lecturae Dantis” in Acireale, where she teaches literary subjects in a high school, and has received two special mentions (the “Salvatore Quasimodo” literary prize and the “Efesto” prize) for her poems.
THE “VULCANO” SERIES IN THE WORDS OF THE PUBLISHER SANTE AVAGLIANO
“The new 'Vulcano' series confirms Marlin's vocation for historical fiction and Italian and foreign memoirs. Our publishing house has always favored historical novels that have real characters and events as protagonists, because we believe it is the most effective way to speak to an audience passionate about history, through a simple, immediate and empathetic approach. I would like to recall, for example, four novels translated in numerous European countries and at the top of the sales charts that have made our publishing house famous: Il resto di niente by Enzo Striano, from which the film of the same name by Antonietta De Lillo was made, which received several nominations for the David di Donatello; Francesca e Nunziata by Maria Orsini Natale, from which Lina Wertmuller made the film that brought Sophia Loren back to Italy; Portrait of Angelica by Simona Weller and La signorina e l'amore by Giovanna Mozzillo. The name 'Vulcano' was chosen to recall an iconic element of our Peninsula and Southern Italy; and then because this word represents the power, the explosion, the wealth, the fertility that, potentially and in action, are provided by historical narrative, capable of going back to the past, rediscovering forgotten subjects and characters. The first three titles in the series are: La Regina di Tebe by Annamaria Zizza, Il regolo imperfetto by Carmine Mari and I Quindici Sciacalli by Massimo Zaninelli.”
In short
The volume by Annamaria Zizza, which inaugurates the series of historical novels “Vulcano”, will be released in all Italian bookstores on Friday, March 10.
- THE QUEEN OF THEBES Widowed by Pharaoh Tutankhamun, his young and beautiful wife Ankhesenamun sends a letter to the king…
- The beautiful young Queen Ankhesenamun, widow of Tutankhamun and childless, in an attempt to pacify her country and…
- Both the powerful vizier Ay and the general Horemheb, who both aspire to the throne, are left in the dark about the initiative.
Key questions
What is the main point of the news?
The volume by Annamaria Zizza, which inaugurates the series of historical novels “Vulcano”, will be released in all Italian bookstores on Friday, March 10.
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THE QUEEN OF THEBES Widowed by Pharaoh Tutankhamun, his young and beautiful wife Ankhesenamun sends a letter to the king…
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The beautiful young Queen Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun's widow and childless, in an attempt to pacify her country and provide an heir…
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