Khufu's Wisdom by Naguib Mahfouz

Khufu's Wisdom by Naguib Mahfouz

Pharaoh Khufu is battling the Fates. At stake is the inheritance of Egypt's throne, the proud but tender heart of Khufu's beautiful daughter Princess Meresankh, and Khufu's legacy as a sage, not savage, ruler. As the tale begins, Khufu is bored in his great palace at Memphis. To entertain him, his architect Mirabu expounds on the mighty masterwork he has so far spent ten years building, with little yet showing above ground--what will become the Great Pyramid of Giza. Mirabu and the clever vizier Hemiunu tempt him with other amusements as well--but to no avail. Then one of the king's sons fetches a magician with the power to predict the future. The sorcerer says that Khufu's own offspring will not inherit Egypt's throne after him, but that it will fall instead to a son born that very morning to the High Priest of Ra. Furious, Khufu and his crown prince, the ruthless Khafra, set out to change the decree of the Fates--which fight back in the form of Djedefra, the boy at the center of the prophecy, and his heart's desire, Princess Meresankh. Yet will the unsuspecting Khufu survive the intrigue around him--not only to finish his long-awaited book of wisdom, but to become truly wise?

Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) was born in Gamaliya, a busy Cairo neighborhood. He penned approximately 40 novels, as well as hundreds of short stories and screenplays. In 1988, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Kay Heikkinen earned her PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard University, where she initially developed an interest in Arabic history, language, and literature. She has taught medieval history and literature, as well as Islamic civilization, at the University of Chicago, where she presently teaches Arabic.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781400076673
ISBN 10	1400076676
Title	Khufu's Wisdom
Author	Naguib Mahfouz
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2005-08-09
Number of pages	240
Prizes	Winner of Nobel Prize 1988
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.