House of Illusions

June 2, 1997
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 voices--Kamen's; his wise family servant's; and Thu's--this 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.