House of Illusions »

Pauline Gedge is a master at recreating the golden age in Egypt. Her heroin, Thu, a peasant girl from the village of Aswat, possesses both beauty and intelligence. To her good fortune Thu is found and brought to the center of society. She is chosen and trained for the court of Pharaoh Ramses. Her talent and guile win her a post in the harem.

Thu rises in favor, is betrayed in a court intrigue that threatens her life and falls from grace. Pharaoh spares her life but banishes her to serve the priests at the lowly temple of Wepwawet near the first cataract.

House of Illusions opens on Gedge's vividly recreated Egypt, sixteen years after Thu's banishment. During her exile she writes an account of her court life and the betrayal for which she seeks revenge. These events took place three thousand years ago. Daily life and custom are woven into the story. In a world without soap and little water, natron serves quite well. Gedge is able to get into the mind

Publishers Weekly

Bestselling author Gedge (Child of the Morning) gives historical fiction a good name. In this, her fifth novel set in ancient Egypt, she continues to render immediate the most remote and exotic of historical settings. Lady of the Reeds, Gedge's previous novel, focused on Thu, a peasant girl cultivated to become the pharaoh's favorite concubine, who was banished after her association with a failed plot to murder the pharaoh. It is 16 years later, and Thu's desire for revenge against those who used and abandoned her burns stronger than ever. Living as a peasant along the banks of the Nile, Thu is considered a madwoman because of her frenzied attempts to find someone to carry her story back to the pharaoh. Eventually Kamen, an honorable junior army officer, takes pity on her and agrees to try to deliver her package. He does not suspect that his actions will resuscitate long-buried intrigues and deceits that will threaten Thu's life and also his own. Told in three voicesKamen's; his wise family servant's; and Thu'sthis vivid and absorbing drama of vengeance and vindication, of confession and forgiveness, builds with every page. Gedge's gifts as a storyteller include full-blooded characterizations and vivid detail that brings ancient Egypt gloriously to life. (May) FYI: House of Illusions was originally published in Canada in June 1996.