She was the Egyptian girl who became a master politician and a supreme stateswoman. Inheriting her father's throne along with her young stepson, Hatshepsut was soon crowned pharaoh in her own right. This is the startling tale of a woman's rise to power within the patriarchal society of ancient Egypt: Hatshepsut was shrewdly conveyed as a masculine ruler in all public statues and artwork, and donned male dress and a false beard in person. She ruled Egypt for decades, claiming her rightful place in the history of this great civilization.