What do you think?
Rate this book
Ancient Egypt #3
The Bright and Morning Star
In their search for a cure for their handicapped son a former Egyptian slave and his wife become involved in trying to prevent the overthrow of the King of Kemi.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
39 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Harris
39 books20 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Harris attended school in Weymouth, and then studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, the Chelsea School of Art and the Courtauld Institute. She served in the British Red Cross Nursing Auxiliary Westminster Division during World War II, and has worked as a picture restorer, a reader for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and a children's book reviewer for The Times from 1970 to 1973. She won the Carnegie Medal in 1968 for The Moon in the Cloud. This book was the first in a trilogy set in ancient Egypt. The subsequent books were The Shadow on the Sun and The Bright and Morning Star. The book was also the basis for a 1978 episode of the BBC series "Jackanory." Other books dealt with topics as diverse as terrorism, magic and futuristic totalitarianism.
Harris attended school in Weymouth, and then studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, the Chelsea School of Art and the Courtauld Institute. She served in the British Red Cross Nursing Auxiliary Westminster Division during World War II, and has worked as a picture restorer, a reader for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and a children's book reviewer for The Times from 1970 to 1973. She won the Carnegie Medal in 1968 for The Moon in the Cloud. This book was the first in a trilogy set in ancient Egypt. The subsequent books were The Shadow on the Sun and The Bright and Morning Star. The book was also the basis for a 1978 episode of the BBC series "Jackanory." Other books dealt with topics as diverse as terrorism, magic and futuristic totalitarianism.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 16, 2017
The Bright and Morning Star focusses on the children of previous books' protagonists. Merenkere's children -- Ta-Thata and Sinuhe -- are, of course, due to be married to one another. Neither is especially keen on the idea, and Sinuhe's tutor, the priest No-Hotep, has plans of his own. Ta-Thata's friend, the Chief Royal Architect Hekhti, becomes involved in the treatment of Reuben and Thamar's son Sadhi, who is deaf and dumb.
May 23, 2017
This story takes takes place some years after the previous book and Thamar and Reuben are now parents of a large family one of whom, Sadhi, is causing them a great deal of distress. Following an accident he has become deaf and dumb and in his frustration and isolation has become violent and is refusing food. His parents fear for his life and following a star of omen, Thamar sets out once more for Egypt in the hope that a cure can be found there, taking her faithful elephant M'Tuska and of course the now venerable cat Cefalu (along with one of his great great great great great grand kittens - who will benefit from a visit to the tomb of Meluseth).
Unfortunately she arrives at a time of tension when the ambition of a renegade priest threatens the Royal family and the gentler regime that has been in place since Merenkere married. This book takes a much darker direction than the previous two -tension then violence escalates and with it the body count. No-Hotep the priest is not just a cartoon villain but a thoroughly nasty ruthless piece of work.
The ending is bittersweet: Good wins the day, but not without some losses along the way and there are clear intimations of mortality as we see that the older cats will not be around for very much longer. Admirable but I did not enjoy it as much as the two previous books.
Unfortunately she arrives at a time of tension when the ambition of a renegade priest threatens the Royal family and the gentler regime that has been in place since Merenkere married. This book takes a much darker direction than the previous two -tension then violence escalates and with it the body count. No-Hotep the priest is not just a cartoon villain but a thoroughly nasty ruthless piece of work.
The ending is bittersweet: Good wins the day, but not without some losses along the way and there are clear intimations of mortality as we see that the older cats will not be around for very much longer. Admirable but I did not enjoy it as much as the two previous books.
November 1, 2020
Shortly into this book I realised it was the final volume of a trilogy and that I hadn't read the previous two stories - which, I quickly came to suspect by tiny details dropped in passing - were a lot more interesting than this one. The animals who talk to one another and to humans seem to have had a more prominent place previously - well, actually, I'm just guessing at that but the story feels that way.
Reuben and Thamar are Prince and Princess of Canaan. They have several children, one of whom - Sadhi - was left deaf and dumb after a serious illness. Sadhi has become wild and violent, and succumbing to depression, appears to want to be left alone to die.
Merenkere of Kemi also has children and, in the usual fashion of securing succession in Egypt, the sister Ta-Thata is to be married to the brother Sinuhe. He is spoilt and casually cruel and his tutor No-Hotep, the priest of Set, has ambitious plans that involve Sinuhe's gullibility, Ta-Thata's right to confer sovereignty and the throne on her spouse, and a few well-disguised troops from the distant land of Shinar.
Thamar is desperate for a cure for Sadhi who seems intent on starving himself to death, so seeing a bright falling star in the direction of Kemi, she takes it as an omen and sets out for Egypt. She takes her faithful elephant M'Tuska and the aged cat Cefalu along with one of his great great great great great grand kittens - who, he thinks, will benefit from a visit to the tomb of his foremother, the incomparably wise cat Meluseth.
The Chief Royal Architect Hekhti, who is building a lavish tomb for Merenkere, has a plan to treat Sadhi and bring him out of his depression. With Ta-Thata's help, he begins to teach Sadhi sign language. No-Hotep and Hekhti are natural rivals - one full of vicious and wily cunning, the other full of upright integrity.
The jeweller to Merenkere has given up his grave-robbing days but his young son Henmut finds the thought daring, glamorous and highly adventurous. He, fortunately, has decided to break into Merenkere's unfinished tomb - just for a look around - right at the moment when No-Hotep's dark ambitions are revealed. Equally fortunately, Reuben has obeyed the still, small voice he has relied on in the past and followed Thamar down into Egypt.
The "bright and morning star" of the title seems to be the Egyptian beetle (scarab) godling Khepri in whose temple Ta-Thata often finds comfort.
Reuben and Thamar are Prince and Princess of Canaan. They have several children, one of whom - Sadhi - was left deaf and dumb after a serious illness. Sadhi has become wild and violent, and succumbing to depression, appears to want to be left alone to die.
Merenkere of Kemi also has children and, in the usual fashion of securing succession in Egypt, the sister Ta-Thata is to be married to the brother Sinuhe. He is spoilt and casually cruel and his tutor No-Hotep, the priest of Set, has ambitious plans that involve Sinuhe's gullibility, Ta-Thata's right to confer sovereignty and the throne on her spouse, and a few well-disguised troops from the distant land of Shinar.
Thamar is desperate for a cure for Sadhi who seems intent on starving himself to death, so seeing a bright falling star in the direction of Kemi, she takes it as an omen and sets out for Egypt. She takes her faithful elephant M'Tuska and the aged cat Cefalu along with one of his great great great great great grand kittens - who, he thinks, will benefit from a visit to the tomb of his foremother, the incomparably wise cat Meluseth.
The Chief Royal Architect Hekhti, who is building a lavish tomb for Merenkere, has a plan to treat Sadhi and bring him out of his depression. With Ta-Thata's help, he begins to teach Sadhi sign language. No-Hotep and Hekhti are natural rivals - one full of vicious and wily cunning, the other full of upright integrity.
The jeweller to Merenkere has given up his grave-robbing days but his young son Henmut finds the thought daring, glamorous and highly adventurous. He, fortunately, has decided to break into Merenkere's unfinished tomb - just for a look around - right at the moment when No-Hotep's dark ambitions are revealed. Equally fortunately, Reuben has obeyed the still, small voice he has relied on in the past and followed Thamar down into Egypt.
The "bright and morning star" of the title seems to be the Egyptian beetle (scarab) godling Khepri in whose temple Ta-Thata often finds comfort.
December 27, 2011
Gently humorous , imaginative and very readable
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews