Interest in ancient civilizations is often fueled by dissatisfaction with contemporary life and yearning for an imagined happier time or place.

For many, Egypt seems to offer such a vista for contemplation. Its surviving art and architecture bespeak a people of great wealth & knowledge, both occult and practical. This gorgeous book presents examples of that art concerned with women's lives, accompanied by an eloquent, scholarly text that contradicts some of the fantasies spun about Egypt but leaves the ancient civilization no less compelling. In particular, Hawass indicates that, despite the presence of queens and goddesses, Egyptian women were not necessarily freer or more powerful than women today.