A READER’S GUIDE TO

THE DOUBLE CROWN

BY MARIE HEESEIntroduction

Why are people drawn to fiction? Is it simply the need to be entertained? Is it anattempt to escape from everyday life, which may be boring or worse – painful, hardlyendurable? Entertainment and escapism often figure in the urge to read. Yet surely thereis more to reading than that. Sharing stories is an activity as old as humankind. From thesmall group of hunter-gatherers huddled around their fire, listening intently to the tales passed on through generations of storytellers, to the modern reader engrossed in anelectronic text on Kindle, people have loved stories for many reasons. Readers arecommonly driven by curiosity and the need to know what happened next; they like todiscover the reasons for certain actions and events; they generally enjoy reflection onhow these narrratives might apply to their own experience.The last point is important. When you discuss a novel, you need to do more thansimply summarize the story or explain the plot. If you are preparing a talk for a readingcircle or book club, the plot summary should not take up more than about one fifth of your time, if that. Members should ideally all have read the book already. If not, givethem an outline, but keep that part of your talk brief. Then proceed to dicuss as many of the following questions as you have time for. You may, of course, come up with morequestions of your own.One way to handle the talk could be for you to prepare your own answers to thequestions, present them all, and then open the floor for discussion. Or, you might prefer to discuss them and take comments one by one. Alternatively, you could hold your owncomments until everyone has had a say, and then you sum up the general consensus,rather like a chairperson. The main aim would be to involve as many people as possible,and allow each one to make a contribution. The questions call for judgements, not correctanswers. But opinions must be justified by referring to the text.

Questions for discussion

1.What, according to this novelist, prompted Hatshepsut to think she could andshould be the Pharaoh? List the suggested or implied reasons. Do you findthem convincing?2.Why was it necessary to add the two scribes Mahu and Ahmose to the story?What do they contribute? (They are both fictitious characters.)3.Has the writer found a believable voice for Hatshepsut? Explain your viewpoint. The same question applies to Mahu. Would the novel have been better written in the third person, do you think? Why or why not?4.Are you convinced by the manner in which Hatshepsut forced the priests tocrown her? (See pp 126 – 130.) If yes, what do you think did the trick? If no,what bothers you?5.Here are two contradictory comments from critics. Where do you stand onthis? Why?

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The writer should be commended for her excellent handling of the eroticcontent.

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The writers fails, miserably, to depict the Pharaoh’s sex life. The sexscenes sooner belong in Mills and Boon.5. How likely do you find the course of the relationship between Hatshepsut andSenenmut? If you are convinced, why is that? If not, why not?6.Does the depiction of the background sound like a tourist guide? Read at least twoextracts to support your answer.7.Do you feel that the rituals are merely picturesque, or does the writer succeed inimparting a sense of the significance and importance they had? Read at leasttwo extracts to support your answer.8.What purpose do you think the writer had in adding the fictitious characters of Bek and Yunit? What, if anything, do they contribute to the impact of thenovel?9.Hatshepsut is faced with a moral dilemma: In order to keep her throne and her kingdom safe, she sometimes feels compelled to act in ways contrary to Ma’at2

(the Egyptian ideal of good order and righteousness). Do you see any parallelswith current events? Explain your answer.10.Does the writer clearly and unequivocally tell us whether Hathsepsut was killed,why and by whom? Refer to the last scroll and Mahu’s additions to supportyour answer.11.What is your opinion of the language used in the novel? Did you find it a bother to read? Would it have been better written in modern English? Give reasonsfor your answer.12.Could Hatshepsut as depicted in this novel be described as a tragic figure in theliterary sense? (A tragic hero has a personal flaw or makes an error of judgement that brings about a fall from happiness and prosperity to theopposite.) Give reasons for your answer.3