The Queen's Handmaid

By Tracy Higley

A jealous Egyptian queen. A lascivious Galilean governor. A beautiful servant girl. Theirs is a story of prophecy, self-discovery, and revelation.

The year is 39 BC. All of Alexandria awaits the arrival of Herod, the Galilean governor with his eye on the Judean kingship. The handmaid of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, receives a troubling visit from her aging mentor.

An orphan since birth, Lydia lives in the palace at the demand of Cleopatra and her royal child, the son of Julius Caesar. But Lydia has a growing problem on her hands: her beauty is becoming a liability to the aging queen, and the visiting Herod’s undisguised interest only makes matters worse.

When Lydia’s mentor is murdered, the handmaid inherits a daunting task. An ancient set of sealed scrolls, the secret writings of the prophet Daniel, must be returned to Jerusalem—before those who killed her mentor destroy the scrolls as well. The future of the Israelites depends on it. So Lydia leaves the palace to serve as lady’s maid to Herod’s wife in the Holy City.

As Lydia is absorbed into the machinations of Herod’s household, her mission— and her people’s hope of a Messianic King—are endangered at every turn. Can Lydia avoid the adulterous intentions of Herod? Can she deliver the scrolls to the mysterious man on the steps of the Temple? Will the true King of Israel ever rise?

"Higley amazes us with another of her action-packed feats of storytelling." —RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 Stars, TOP PICK! (on Palace of Darkness)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Mar 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781401686857

Tracy Higley

Tracy L. Higley started her first novel at the age of eight and has been hooked on writing ever since. She has authored ten novels, including Garden of Madness and So Shines the Night. Tracy is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Ancient History and has traveled through Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Italy, researching her novels and falling into adventures. See her travel journals and more at TracyHigley.com

Reviews for The Queen's Handmaid

[violet_nesdoly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lydia, slave of Cleopatra, is not only lovely but also ambitious. Her artistic pottery is in demand and already she has collected a bag of coins against the day she can escape from the palace and start her own business. But the night Herod comes to visit, everything changes. Cleopatra, stymied in her attempt to seduce Herod, takes out her anger on those around her. After doing away with loose-lipped Andromeda, Lydia is in her sites.

Lydia, meanwhile, responds to an urgent call from her elderly Jewish friend Samuel. Determined to hear what he has to tell her, she goes to his home only to find it a shambles and the old man beaten and all but dead. With his last breath he entrusts her with an ancient parchment to deliver to Jerusalem and gives her a unique necklace. “It was your mother’s,” he manages to gasp—and he’s gone.

What’s she to do? Suddenly Herod’s earlier offer to take her with him from Alexandria to become a maid to his betrothed Mariamme seems like a good idea. And so the next day finds her on a boat fleeing murderous Cleopatra while on a secret and dangerous mission of her own.

We follow Lydia for the next few years as she travels from Egypt to Rome, on to Masada and finally Jerusalem in Tracy Higley’s historical fiction The Queen’s Handmaid. Lydia always manages to find work at the highest levels and so we get close-up glimpses of the political life and the power characters during the time period just before Christ.

The characters, real and fictional, are rendered vividly and with confidence. In a note at the end of the book Higley tells us what she was hoping to achieve. She invented Lydia as a fictional “witness” character through whom we would see some of the major political players of the day: Cleopatra, Caesar Augustus, Marc Antony, Herod, his sister Salome and wife Mariamme. As well, Higley’s own travels to Alexandria, Rome, Jerusalem and Masada lend accuracy and detail to descriptions of the setting.

The plot kept me engrossed and reading at a good pace. The intrigue in each palace made for great human interest and the author’s familiarity with the various locations gave me confidence that I was in good hands. Lydia, the orphan, is a sympathetic character in her search for identity and worth. Her romantic interest in Herod’s administrator Simon added another magnet to the plot.

If there was one thing that seemed little unbelievable, it was how Lydia always managed to be working for one of the land’s leading ladies (Cleopatra, Octavia, Mariamme). But that aside, The Queen’s Handmaid is a well-plotted, well-written historical fiction that I’m sure lovers of historical and biblical fiction will enjoy. A Reading Group Guide at the end of the book makes it a fine choice for book clubs as well.

I received an ebook version of The Queen’s Handmaid as a gift from Thomas Nelson for the purpose of writing a review.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Breathtaking in scope, this historical piece takes us back to when Cleopatra was still ruling the Nile and Rome was still in all its glory. Told through the eyes of a handmaid, this tale of suspense, finding one's true purpose, and faith is inspiring and intriguing. The political intrigues and backdrop are fascinating enough on their own but author, Tracey L. Higley, goes above and beyond creating the perfect story. Lydia serves first Cleopatra in Alexandra, then Herrod's wife in the Holy city. Before she fled Alexandria with Herrod, her mentor entrusted her with a sacred set of scrolls to be given to a secret man in Jerusalem. For years she carries this secret burden trying to fulfill this destiny but something always manages to thwart her attempts; war, death, duty, the list is never ending. Lydia must learn to trust herself and her friends if she is ever to complete her mission.For fans of historical intrigue, romance, and biblical history. I received this book free from LitFuse Publicity in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.

[vintagebeckie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tracy L. Higley consistently writes well-research historical novels with a fictional thread that not only fits the context, but adds depth and meaning. In The Queen’s Handmaid, Higley tackles the story of the Herodian, Hasmonean and Ptolemaic dynasties during the expansion of the Roman Empire. Sound daunting? Well think about the importance of this time in history — three decades before the birth of Christ. This was a time I new little about, but The Queen’s Handmaid put the political and spiritual implications in perspective for me. A great read for fans of Biblical history.Lydia is the nursemaid for Cleopatra’s son Caesarion. An orphan with no idea of her family origins, she finds family in those she serves and serves with. But she has often found that relationships end and often painfully. So she keeps her distance while drawing people to herself at the same time. Through her studies with Samuel, Lydia is placed in a position to serve the Jewish One God, and this places her on a spiritual journey from Egypt through Rome to Judea, as she serves as the handmaid for wives of influential leaders of the time.The reigns of the Ptolemys and the Herodians are filled with cruelty, murder and incest (at least in modern terms). They married uncles, nieces and cousins and had no compunction in killing anyone on their way to power, including wives, brothers and children. They also repeated the same names, even within the same generation, causing some identification problem for this reader. Higley does include genealogies to help with this. And while there are huge power struggles — Greek Ptolemys ruling Egypt and Idumean Herodians conquering Judea — it is the portrayal of the Jewish spirit of independence and the anticipation of the Messiah that brings this novel a depth perhaps not seen in the historical record. Lydia’s character, while fictional, is realistic. Her quiet strength, faithfulness and determination draw others to her, while also garnering her very formidable enemies. Her struggle to find identity, which leads her to the One God, is one we all face. The quest entrusted to her by her mentor, Samuel, doesn’t end with the last page of the novel, and I am looking forward to seeing just where her story will take us. Hopefully her next stop will be among the Wise Men of the East.Not a quick read — there is just too much history and political intrigue to digest — it is, nevertheless, a page turner. I recommend The Queen’s Handmaid to those who want to know more about the time leading up to Jesus’s birth. The words, In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1), just might take on a new meaning.Recommended.(Thanks to Thomas Nelson and LitFuse for my review copy. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

[cewtypye · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Queen's Handmaid was a nice tale I also finished this week. I have to say I rather enjoyed it. This takes place right after Julius Cesar died and Cleopatra still reins. She has a great handmaid whom she treats poorly. The other men rulers take notice of your handmaid and it seems everything she touches turns beautifully. Jealousy strikes her so she run her off to Herod. Before leaving her dying mentor entrusts her with secret writings of the prophet Daniel and charges her to deliver this vital information to those watching for the promised King of Israel. Lydia takes her work very seriously as she serves Herod's wife. She befriends her and they become close almost family. This tale has a great deal of history woven in with a story. I will say this is a great book for beginner's.