Puss Reboots: Blog: June 2008: Diary of the Boy King Tutankhamen

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Diary of the Boy King Tutankhamen: 06/17/08

I've been interested in Tutankhamen and more broadly the 18th dynasty since my senior year of high school. So when I saw this 1978 historical novel, Diary of the Boy King Tutankhamen by June Reig, I had to read it.

Diary of the Boy King... covers roughly a year, starting just before the coronation and through the first few months of Tutankhamen's reign. Reig's entries include common every day events along with historically significant moments. Some of the entries have little drawings to illustrate some of the items found in Tutankhamen's tomb. The diary helps to put these pieces of treasure into a more human context.

From the dozen or so historical fictions I've read where Tutankhamen is a character, Reig's depiction is the most genuine. She manages to walk the line between little boy and powerful monarch.

The book ends as it must with a brief note from Ankhenesamen mourning her husband's early death and wondering about her future and the kingdom's future. I knew the ending was coming but it still left me feeling a little sad.