So Moses Was Born

The story of Moses, that is to say, the traditional story, is familiar in that it covers his birth in the bull rushes and his upbringing in the court of Egypt which afforded him a place of power from which he could set the Israelites free. Because of her insight or "far memory" and knowledge of ancient Egypt, Joan Grant holds that Moses must have inherited some of his traditional greatness in a more direct way. Thus, in this recreation of the events leading up to the birth of Moses, she tells the life story of Ramoses II whom she believes to have been his father. Out of this brilliant novel arises a totally believable and human image of Ramoses who, as a young boy, was confronted with the enormous burden of ruling over Two Lands. Forced more and more to hide behind the cloak of royalty, he struggles with the conflicts of his wives, his fear of war, the barely audible demand of the Jews in Egypt, and the competitive power of the priests of Amen. His hope lies, he believes, in fathering a Winged Pharaoh, a priest king who will unite the divisive forces in his kingdom. When he finds a woman who loves him apart from his royal position, the auguries bode the divinity of his son, and Moses is born. Once again, Joan Grant captures the overall majesty and grandeur as well as the important details of life in ancient Egypt to paint an unforgettable picture of events crucial to our lives today. "Endlessly fascinating and absorbing," reported Time and Tide. "It has a diary-like quality, the verisimilitude of biography, but biography that takes as it were a double view."