Pauline Gedge Books In Order

Lady Of The Reeds Books In Publication Order

Lady of the Reeds / House of Dreams (1994)
House of Illusions (1996)

Lords Of The Two Lands Books In Publication Order

The Hippopotamus Marsh (1998)
The Oasis (1998)
The Horus Road (2000)

The King’s Man Books In Publication Order

The Twice Born (2007)
Seer of Egypt (2008)
The King’s Man (2010)

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

Child of the Morning (1977)
The Eagle and the Raven (1978)
Stargate (1982)
The Twelfth Transforming (1984)
Scroll of Saqqara / Mirage (1990)
The Covenant (1992)

Lady Of The Reeds Book Covers

Lords Of The Two Lands Book Covers

The King’s Man Book Covers

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Pauline Gedge Books Overview

Lady of the Reeds / House of Dreams

An accomplished historical novelist tells the story, set in ancient Egypt, of an intelligent, ambitious woman named Thu, who leaves her native village aboard the boat of a prophet and eventually becomes a powerful concubine of Ramses III.

House of Illusions

Pauline Gedge is a master at recreating the golden age in Egypt. Her hero*in, Thu, a peasant girl from the village of Aswat, possesses both beauty and intelligence. To her good fortune Thu is found and brought to the center of society. She is chosen and trained for the court of Pharaoh Ramses. Her talent and guile win her a post in the harem. Thu rises in favor, is betrayed in a court intrigue that threatens her life and falls from grace. Pharaoh spares her life but banishes her to serve the priests at the lowly temple of Wepwawet near the first cataract. House of Illusions opens on Gedge’s vividly recreated Egypt, sixteen years after Thu’s banishment. During her exile she writes an account of her court life and the betrayal for which she seeks revenge. These events took place three thousand years ago. Daily life and custom are woven into the story. In a world without soap and little water, natron serves quite well. Gedge is able to get into the mind of the courtiers and their attitudes to their servants. While beneath them, these inferior beings are very much a part of the family of the house. The mysterious Hathor, Thoth, Amun and Ma’at are part of the Egyptian pantheon. They enter the daily life of the characters and the mystery begins to make sense. Never again will the reader scoff at these queer religious notions. The harmony and truth Ma’at embodies is the guiding principal Thu believes in seeking her revenge.

The Hippopotamus Marsh

An epic of the struggle to liberate Egypt from the rule of the ‘Shepherd Kings’. The Hyksos outlanders from Asia Minor with Cretan and Minoan trading connections ruled Egypt for over two hundred years, from about 1830 b.c. Then the descendants of the last true king of Egypt rallied the native princes of Upper Egypt to rebel against the foreigners and their alien gods and ways. Sequenra Tao, prince of Weset, led the revolt. His provincial, aristocratic family dauntless mother, dutiful wife, three handsome sons, and two beloved daughters are accustomed to a life of straitened gentility on their estate, remote from the center of power and commerce in the Delta and from the contamination of the Hyksos. But when the prince decides to throw off the shackles of subservience, their lives change as they each must risk all, even life itself, to restore Egyptians and their gods to glory. The Hippopotamus Marsh begins a trilogy that brings to vivid life the passions and intrigues that ushered in the great Eighteenth Dynasty.

The Oasis

In this second volume of the Lords of the Two Lands trilogy, Kamose, austere eldest son of the slain Tao prince Seqenenra, assumes leadership of the Egyptian rebellion against the foreign Hyksos rulers and begins a perilous sweep north, up the river Nile, toward the delta strongholds of his enemy, the Pharaoh Apepa. Supported by his brothers and the women of his family, Kamose makes a desperate effort to vanquish his powerfully entrenched enemies, to save his family, to liberate his country, and to restore the native gods of Egypt to their former glory.

The Horus Road

In this, the last book of the trilogy, the youngest son of Seqenenra Tao assumes command of the native armies rebelling against the Pharaoh Apepa, whose alien dynasty has ruled Egypt for two hundred years. When his dedicated but ascetic older brother, Kamose, was assassinated by his own allies, Ahmose was seriously wounded. The women of the family must hold the native forces together until Ahmose can recover and develop a strategy that will bring about the downfall of the ‘rulers of the uplands,’ whom we know today as the Hyksos.

The Twice Born

When Huy is sent away from his family’s farm to a prestigious school for a chance at a better life as a scribe, he is soon befriended by the family of the local governor. But just as Huy starts to feel at home with his aristocratic new friends, an unexpected attack shockingly takes his life. After five days in a crypt being prepared for his own burial, Huy miraculously revives. His mysterious return to life makes him a pariah, and although he longs to lead a normal life, Huy finds himself haunted by visions of the deaths of those around him. An ingenious and suspenseful novel of ancient Egypt, The Twice Born is a treat for all fans of historical or fantasy fiction.

Seer of Egypt

Huy has risen from lowly origins to become the Seer of the King. Yet Amunhotep’s patronage is both a blessing and a curse to Huy, who feels imprisoned by the gift Thoth has imposed on him and by the life he must live to keep it. Though rewarded with wealth and influence, Huy longs for the pleasures of those he sees around him, especially love, which seems forever lost to him. But when the King calls for his help, Huy has no choice. The life he knew is coming to an end, but his contribution to Egyptian history is just beginning.

Child of the Morning

Based closely on historical events, this sensuously beautiful, astonishingly evocative novel tells the story of one of history’s most remarkable women the first female Pharaoh of Egypt. Thirty five centuries ago, Hatshepsut, the youngest daughter of the Pharaoh, was to marry her father s illegitimate son and heir to the throne, Thothmes, in order to cleanse the bloodline in accordance with Egypt s supreme law. Fearing his son s incompetence, Hatshepsut s father chose her as the heir provided that the unprecedented ascension by a woman did not inspire the priests to commit treason or instill enough hatred in the envious heart of her half brother and future consort to have her put to death. Rich in historical detail, this account recalls the rule of one of Egypt s greatest queens who, under her father s guidance, assumed the throne at the age of 15 and ruled brilliantly for more than two decades.

The Eagle and the Raven

Spanning three generations, this historical novel tells the tale of Boudicca, the most famous warrior of ancient Britain, and Caradoc, the son of a Celtic king, who sets out to unite the people of the Raven and lead them against Rome. Caradoc’s objective is not easily accomplished as the Roman army advances into Britain, raping Celtic women and burning villages to the ground. His efforts are also met with fierce opposition from Aricia, the vain queen of a northern tribe who swears allegiance to the Romans after Caradoc slights her, and from Gladys, Caradoc’s warrior sister who falls in love with her Roman captor. Unfortunately, Caradoc s endeavors are left unresolved when he is taken prisoner, but Boudicca, a strong willed woman, ultimately takes up the cause that was Caradoc s legacy.

The Twelfth Transforming

Part of a popular line of historical thrillers set in Egypt, this second volume in Gedge’s bestselling series reconstructs the court of Akhenaten, one of ancient Egypt’s most controversial and colorful rulers, whose reign lead to the near collapse of his empire some 2,500 years ago. ‘A lustrous tale of Pharaonic decadence’. ‘The New York Times’.