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Akhnaton: a play in three acts

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Set in 1350 BC, the legend of Akhnaton tells of the Pharoah's attempt to convince his nation to abandon their old 'pagan' god Amon and to turn to the worship of a new deity, the monotheistic sun god, Aton. Introduced to the legend by Howard Carter, discoverer of Tutankhamun's tomb, when she met him in Luxor in 1931, Agatha Christie became fascinated by both the story and the society in which it took place. Her painstaking researches led to this retelling of the story in the form of a highly readable and dramatic two-hour play. Akhnaton was written by Agatha Christie in 1937, when her interest in Egyptology from her travels with her archaeologist husband was at its height. Probably her most serious play, it was deemed too ambitious to be performed, and it went unknown and unpublished until Collins released a hardback edition in 1973. Never paperbacked or published subsequently, this rare edition has become the Holy Grail for Agatha Christie collectors, keen to learn more about this unique drama and to discover its relevance alongside her other Egyptian books such as Death Comes As the End, Death on the Nile, Appointment With Death and Come, Tell Me How You Live. Now this facsimile edition of the original hardback at last gives Christie fans the chance to discover for themselves one of Agatha Christie's most highly sought after and exotic creations.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1937

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About the author

Agatha Christie

5,798 books75k followers
Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
Profile Image for Tariq Alferis.
900 reviews704 followers
November 4, 2014
.‎المُصنف الأدبي الوحيد لتلك الكاتبة الكبيرة الغير بوليسي، مسرحية أخناتون، صاحب الإنقلاب على كهنة أمون، أول مُوحد للآلهة، ثالث مرة نجرب نقرأ مسرحية لكن آجاثا كريستي رائعة، وقامت آجاثا بكتابتها في مصر وبالتحديد في مدينة الأقصر،تتكلم عن التوحيد عن الجمال عن الفن عن كهنة آمون عن السلام في قلب اخناتون، عن جمال نفرتيتي‫.‬
‎قامت الكاتبة بكتابة المسرحية ووضعتها في الدُرج المكتب لمدة أربعين سنة حتي تم نشرها ‫..
Profile Image for Dane Cobain.
Author 22 books322 followers
May 6, 2017
I wasn’t too sure how to classify this one – it’s a play that’s based on a true story, the story of the renegade pharaoh Akhnaton, who tried to change the Ancient Egyptians’ belief system to focus on just one god, the god of the sun. Oh, and his son was a pretty famous pharaoh called Tutankhamun, who’s a character in the story.

It actually makes for a truly fascinating read, especially if you’re interested in Egyptology – I am, but only as a passing interest and not as a scholar, and I thought it was fantastic. It’s made particularly interesting when you consider that Christie befriended Howard Carter, the archaeologist who unearthed the boy prince Tutankhamun, and she also married an expert on Egypt and its history. It looks like the two of us have some shared interests – that’s fricken awesome!

Profile Image for Nö Ğå.
446 reviews13 followers
June 16, 2022
مسرحيه تحكي عن اخناتون وفتره حكمه
كل ماذكره التاريخ عن اخناتون انه اول من دعي لعباده اتون
كان عهده عهد مساواه وتسامح وازدهرت فيه كل الفنون وكان يعيش حياه تسامح
عهد فيه الي ايقاف عباده امون وكهنه امون ونفوذهم... امر بانهاء كل الالهه من اوزيس واوزوريس وامون وغيرهم من الالهه
ع الجانب الاخر فقدت مصر فيه اسمها وقوتها واضمحلت فيه امبراطوريته

اكتر ماآلمني ان نفرتيتي هي من سقته السم بيديها وقالت اجعل كل تماثيلي يتم هدم يدين نفرتيتي الملعونتين.. كم احبته واخلصت له
559 reviews
May 28, 2011
OK, I've been reading Agatha Christie books for years, and have been an amateur Egyptologist for even longer. So how did this book escape my notice for so long???

So much has been discovered in just the last ten years about the 18th Dynasty that much of what Christie writes in this book is out of date, but it's still a good story. It reminds me of the fact that even though technology has changed thousands of times over, people haven't changed at all. Agatha Christie knew this, without a doubt, which is why her books are still being read almost 40 years after her death.
Profile Image for Maha Rashwan.
236 reviews43 followers
November 19, 2019
تجربة أدبية مسرحية وحيدة تظهر اجاثا كريستي كاديبة متميزة بعيدا عن قصص الجريمة، عمل رائع يعد إعادة اكتشاف لكاتبته
Profile Image for Fay AlFalah.
329 reviews2 followers
November 7, 2022
اسم الكتاب: اخناتون - Akhnaton
اسم الكاتب: أجاثا كريستي - Agatha Christie
عدد الصفحات:


نبذة عن المسرحية،،
كتبت "أجاثا كريستي" هذه المسرحيّة عام 1937، وهو العمل الوحيد لها غير بوليسي وكتبته بالتزامن مع روايتها "موت فوق النيلDeath on The Nile " ولكن أجاثا كريستي أقفلت عليها لذا لم تنشر إلا بعد مرور 40 عاماً من كتابتها، تم استخدام المسرحية من قبل بعض المجموعات من الهواة والمسارح، ولكن نادرًا ما تم عرضها.

• مراجعتي،،
قصة جميلة ورائعة وجذابة جداً أحببتها ، لم أعلم بوجود هذه المسرحية للكاتبة أجاثا كريستي إلا مصادفة لذا قررت أن لا أدعها تفلت مني وأنا التي أعتدتُ إعادة قراءة كتبها البوليسية، أما هذه المسرحية فهي مختلفة جداً قصة تتحدث عن الملك أخناتون وسنوات حكمه وما هي كانت اعتقاداته ومن خلالها تثبتت لدي معلومات أكثر وصادفت قرائتي لهذه القصة 4 نوفمبر 2022 مئوية أكتشاف القرن مقبرة توت عنخ آمون على يد عالم الآثار البريطاني هوارد كارتر يوم 4 نوفمبر 1922 !

~اقتباسات،،
1- "لا يليق أت تركل امرءأً وهو ملقى على الأرض!" ~ حورمحب
2- "لا تنسى إننا نحكم هؤلاء القوم لمصلحتهم، فبدون قبضتنا القوية هم كفيلون بأن يدمروا أنفسهم بمائة معركة قبلية حقيرة!" ~ كبير الكهنة
3- الهدم أيسر من البناء، و ليس من الحكمة خرق التقاليد! ~ كبير الكهنة
4- إذا لم تترجم الأفكار إلى أعمال، فما هو جدوى الأفكار؟ ~أخناتون
5- أني أحلم بالماضي، وأحلم أحياناً بالمستقبل، ولكن الماضي أكثر أمناً. ~أخناتون
6- من الحكمة دائماً أن تلتزم الصمت إلى أن يحين الوقت. ~اخناتون
7- إنني أحلم بمملكة يعيش فيها البشر في سلام و إخاء، أما الأقطار الأجنبية فترد إلى أهلها ليحكموها بأنفسهم، وأحلم بكهنة أقل عدداً وبقرابين أقل، وبدلاً من النساء الكثيرات، أحلم بامرأة واحدة، امرأة بلغت من الجمال الحد الذي يجعل الناس يتحدثون بعد ألوف السنين عن جمالها الفذ. ~ اخناتون
8- إن دهاء الافعوان أجدى من زئير الأسد. ~ ملكة تي
9- إن العصفور يغرد في القفص، ولكنه خليق أن يغرد بصورة أفضل في الهواء الطلق. ~اخناتون
10- الجمال الحقيقي لا يمكن أن يموت. ~اخناتون
11- في القصور لا يسمع المرء إلا ما يحب أن يسمع! ~ملكة تي
12- "من ذا الذي يهتم بجمال الأفكار؟ ليس الرقيق الزراعيون، لأنهم يهتمون بالخبر. أم الجنود؟ إنهم لا يفكرون إلا بالترقي. والكهنة لا يهتمون إلا بالثراء والسلطان. ~ الملكة تي
13- انا وأنت امرأتان يا بنيتي، ولدينا حكمة النساء، وجميع الرجال أطفال، مجرد أطفال، ولا بد أن يقادوا، ونلاطفهم بالكلمات الناعمة والقبلات، وبذلك ننقلهم من عواقب حمقهم. ~الملكة تي
14- إن حديث النساء على حماقتهن وجهلهن كان أحياناً لا يخلو من الفائدة، فالنساء يا عزيزي "بتاحموز" يمثلن تمثيلاً كافياً ما يمكن أن نسميه "قوة الرأي العام". ~الكاهن الأعظم
15- وماذا تتوقعين من عقرب غير اللدغ. ~ اخناتون
16- ما لم تحكم رقابتك بإستمرار، ستجد القوي يستغل الضعيف، والقوانين الخيرة تلتوي لمصلحة خربي الذمة. ~ حور محب
17- ما قيمة صدور قانون إن لم يوجد من يتولى مراقبة تنفيذة؟ ~ الملكة تي
18- الجمل الجمال الجمال، ما كل هذا الجنون بالجمال؟ ثم ماذا يمكن أن يصنع الجمال للعالم آخر الأمر؟ إنه لا يستطيع أن يجعل المحصولات تنمو، ولا يقدر أن يمنح العدالة للمظلومين، وفي ذهني أن اقليماً حسن الإدارة مضبوط الأمن على يد الشرطة يستطيع فيه الناس أن يزرعوا محصولاتهم غير خائفين، ويمضون في حياتهم آمنين، أكبر قيمة من عشر تماثيل أو من قصر حافل باللوحات البارزة والمعلقات المنسوجة. ~ حورمحب
19- إن مقابلة العنف بالعنف خليقٌ أن يولد مزيداً من العنف.
20- المرء يجب ألا يعد موضع راحته فحسب، بل يجب أن يعد روحه أيضاً.~اخناتون
21- ليس كل انسان يستطيع أن يعيش في الحقيقة. ~نفرتيتي
22- إن لنا نحن الكهنة وسائلنا الخاصة، نحن كحيوان الخلد، نعمل تحت الأرض إن سرنا هو النتظيم. ~الكاهن الأكبر
23- إن لكل امرئ موطن ضعفه الذي ينكسر عنده. ~حورمحب
24- فعندما يندفع النسر في الطيران لا يستطيع أن يكبحه شيء! ~نفرتيتي
25- ايحب المرء ويدمر؟ ~حورمحب
26- عندما يكون الضوء أقوى مما ينبغي، لا نستطيع أن نرى ما نصنع، فلنواصل العمل، لأنه لا بد من إنجازه. ~البنّاء

568 reviews2 followers
September 24, 2011
This is a play by Agatha Christie based on the actual reign of Akhnaton in ancient Egypt, and proves that Christie should stick to mystery stories. An un-producible play with numerous extravagant sets, stilted dialog and almost no dramatic tension.
Profile Image for Eman Hafez.
441 reviews81 followers
July 2, 2019
كنت متخيلاها لغز قبل ما اقراها واتفاجئت إنها مسرحية .. أجاثا كريستي قادرة على إبهارك حتى في مسرحية
Profile Image for David Campton.
1,229 reviews34 followers
August 16, 2022
Although not published until the mid 1970s this unstaged play dates from the mid 1930s, and as such it may not do much for Christie's reputation as a dramatist, given its didactic, undramatic and formal nature, but it does offer a time-capsule-like insight into the period. Not only does it capture the prevailing interest in the "heretic" Pharaoh (to use an anachronistic term that Christie herself avoids) and his wife Nefertiti following the Flinders-Petrie excavation of Amarna, with the allusions of pre-figuring Christianity that would find full-bloom in the 1950s Hollywood film "The Egyptian", it also picks up the emerging disquiet about western imperialism and the interwar issues about the limits of pacifism, together with questions about loyalty to King or Country that were alive in Britain at this period of the abdication crisis. None of these are fully fleshed out - that was not the style of theatre at the time unlike later agit-prop/theatre workshop productions. Sadly the characters aren't fully fleshed out either (another feature of the theatre of the time with its hangover from Victorian melodrama) and the complex political and family history of the time (which fascinates me and was what first drew me to the piece) is understandably simplified, probably both for dramatic purposes and so that it might not transgress the social mores of the time.
30 reviews
December 5, 2018
من أروع ما قرأت فى الدراما التاريخية خصوصا انها الرواية الوحيدة الغير بوليسية التى كتبتها أجاثا كريستى و��ى تعيش فى الاقصر مما دل على تعلقها بالحضارة الفرعونية وحبها لمصر..
أيضا الترجمة كانت فى أسلوب رائع
تركيز الرواية كان على دور اخناتون فى حكم مصر واغفلت قليلا دور زوجته نفرتيتى فى الحكم
الرواية جعلت القارىء يتعاطف مع اخناتون ونواياه الطيبة ودعوته للتوحيد والحب والسلام ولكنها اظهرت ان الشعب بالكامل لا يعجبه فكر اخناتون وان الشعب متمسك بمعتقداته وان الاله يجب ان يكون فى شكل صنم وان الشعب بدون قوانين صارمة فإنه سيتجه إلى العنف والسرقة والنهب، وأظن أنه تحامل وتعميم على الشعب فى هذه الفترة
أعجبت بشخصية حور محب وولائه الشديد لصديقه وانتمائه لوطنهولكن كيف وهو مقرب جدا للملك لم يكن يقدر على اقناع اخناتون بارسال جيوش لوقف العنف فى البلاد

من أجمل ما قال اخناتون:
"مصر الامبراطورية التى لا تغيب عنها الشمس"
"لان مصر عظيمة ، فإن عيون العالم كله عليها. ومثلما تصنع مصر تحتذى الامم الصغرى حذوها"
من أجمل ما قال حور محب فى حواره الاخير مع اخناتون:
"لم يمت حبى لك، ولكن تحول بيننا أشلاء موتى ، ومدن مخربة ،واسم مصر الذى انحطت مكانته. وفى نهاية المطاف ، لئن كنت الملك ، فما أنت إلا فرد واحد ، ومصــــــــر هى التى يقام لها الوزن! وطنــــــــــــى".
1,439 reviews44 followers
January 1, 2025
I'm deeply interested in Akhenaten and even I found this a bit of a slog as plays go. Christie portrays him as a mystic peacenik more interested in art than governance, and who runs Egypt into the ground with his pacifism. I'm also not sure if I'm reading too much into her portrayal of relationship between Akhenaten and Horemheb, which has homoerotic overtones.

I do have a whole book on Akhenaten that I haven't yet read, and I really should, to get an idea of what recent scholarship says about him. I suspect he was a lot shrewder than AC portrays him - to be able to crush the power of the Amun cult in the beginning must have taken some doing, and it probably enriched the pharaonic coffers a great deal and strengthened his own power base by removing another. But I don't actually know a huge amount about him other than the whole monotheism thing, so I could be wrong on this.

Overall, I think it's a good thing this play was never staged - there is absolutely zero humour in it and I think it would have been rather dreary, especially since everyone basically knows how it all ended up.
Profile Image for Gail Sacharski.
1,210 reviews4 followers
April 1, 2021
Agatha Christie, due to her travels & assistance to archaeologist husband, Max Mallowan, had a wonderful descriptive way with her writings about the Middle East & Egypt. This book is a bit different in that it's a play, so not as descriptive. I have read it before, but it was a different perspective this time as I've just finished helping my grandson with his World Cultures Ancient Egyptian Unit. I'd always admired Akhnaton for his attempt to change polytheism in Egypt over to monotheism as well as for other of his innovations, but after this reading of this play again now, I see how the Egyptian people may not have been ready for this idea & how it might have worked to disrupt their lives & the structure of the Egyptian governing force, how they may have reacted & rebelled when greedy factions & outside enemies took advantage of the Pharaoh's nonviolence/non-punishment policy. Egypt has always been a fascinating place to me & I enjoyed the play very much.
Profile Image for Mehedi Sarwar.
334 reviews4 followers
May 7, 2021
A different kind of play written by Agatha Christie. Her other plays are related to crime and murder mystery, on the other hand Akhenaton is a historical tragedy.

In ancient Egypt multiple gods were worshipped. The high priest of the main God Amon had huge power and stronghold over everything, even the kings. Pharaoh king Akhenaton wanted to unite the people of the whole world through love. Instead of invade and conquering Akhenaton chose to be loving ruler and he wanted to bring everyone under his new ways. He also believed in monotheism and as a result temples if the old god were getting involved.

As Akhenaton gets older, Egypt started to fall into chaos. People started to think that the old gods are angry to be banished. Seeing the opportunity, the priests of the old gods started rebellion and the kings own people are turning against him.

Very well written.
Profile Image for Salma.
241 reviews20 followers
February 12, 2022
It was a pleasant surprise to know that the Agatha Christie took interest in my favorite historical figure and devoted a whole play for him outside of her usual niche of mystery. And although I read a translated version it remains profound and beautifully written, poetic and touching. Very interesting to see her ficitionlization of history and how the events unfold through her vision.
And while Akhnaton and Nefertiti could feel one dimensional, passive, and too idealized at times, they never lose their humanity and they still play their measure roles in the conflict. Also that ending ended me, Christie took liberty of the ambiguity regrading this era and labored a very beautifully tragic Shakespearean ending, effectively made me tear up
I'm grateful for this reading experience paired with one of my favorite pieces Akhnaten opera by Philip Glass
Profile Image for Kirsten Simkiss.
857 reviews4 followers
October 22, 2020
I really enjoy Agatha Christie’s works in general, but this play just could not hold my attention at all. Akhenaton, for whom the play is named, is written at the best of times like a preachy teenager who may or may not be high. Everyone else in the play has more interesting story lines, if I’m honest, but he takes up the bulk of it as one might expect. His monologues about the light of Aton go on for pages at times. They really did put me off the script to the point where I wanted to put it down or skip them entirely, since they all roughly said about the same thing.

I can’t speak much to the historical accuracy of Akhenaton’s life, but it is probable our understanding of Egyptian history has radically been improved since this was written in 1937.

All in all, not one I could recommend.
Profile Image for Heather.
988 reviews32 followers
March 14, 2018
What I wanted was for Christie to breathe life into the characters and create a good story from an era that still has so many questions. I did have a hard time buying in to the story at the start because there are many inaccuracies. The inaccuracies do suit a coherent story, and there are many other things that really do suit everything that I know. The Akhenaten that Christie writes is consistent with the man who would have decorated his palace with beautiful paintings of wildlife, who is always shown near his wife, clearly in love, and who wrote such beautiful poetry.
Profile Image for Mlk.
22 reviews
May 8, 2025
This play belongs to the writer “AGATH CHRISTI” who is famous in writing police stories, but that was an exception!
She was so interested in the cultures of different countries and especially The Egyptian culture so she wrote this play.
It talks about the Egyptian pharaoh “ Akenaton “ and his wife “Nefertiti” , and how they ruled Egypt and tried to change the religion of their people.
For me it was more fun to read their story as a play written by my favourite writer than reading it in some fact websites.
Profile Image for Ahmed.
205 reviews43 followers
October 21, 2018
well as an egyptian i enjoyed this a lot
i felt proud finding that agatha wrote about ancient egyptians
she honestly wrote about one of the periods egypt was ruled by akhnaton with great sensation
u can feel u r one of them while reading
i really loved that and i hate what was hapenning in old egypt from rituals and stupid relegious doings
it is really bad to see an idiot ruling ur country
they are so much nowadays
Profile Image for Renad Ahmed.
63 reviews4 followers
November 3, 2021
للمرة الثانية أقرأ رواية لاجاثا كريستي بعيدة عن أدب الجريمة.
رواية اخناتون تتكلم فيها عن الحب و الجمال و من الواضح تأثرها الشديد بمصر الفرعونية و تاريخها
المليء بالأحداث المثيرة و الغامضة في نفس الوقت فحتى وقت قريب كانت مقبرة نفرتيتي غير معروف مكان دفنها و هل فعلاً تم التخلص من اخناتون بالقتل على يد نفرتيتي ام اختلط الواقع و الخيال في رؤية أجاثا كريستي.......
و لكن تبقى أجاثا كريستي الملكة المتوجة على عرش أدب الجريمة
Profile Image for Maged Mossalam.
145 reviews5 followers
March 19, 2022
سيرة رجل مهم و عظيم و مختلف و مختلف عليه و قلم كاتبة موهوبة متمكنة سواء كتبت سيرة رجل خالد مثل اخناتون او كتبت قصص بوليسية شيقة
مسرحية عظيمة و فينال عظيم -في بضع كلمات أوضحت الكاتبة قرءاتها لمحنة اخناتون و العظة و العبرة من سيرته و هي بالتأكيد رؤية نبيهة!
و رغم ان الكتاب يبدوا قديم لان فيه ما عفا عنه الزمن و غيره و استعيض عنه من معلومات و احدات الا الدراما و الاثارة و العبرة و حتى العبرة كلها أشياء أجادت صنعها الماهرة و عظيمة الشأن في حرفة الكتابة و القص اجاثا كريستي
Profile Image for Hamza.
113 reviews5 followers
September 9, 2018
خلافا لكل ما كتبته اجاثا كريستي, مسرحية اخناتون هاته ليست بقصة بوليسية نكتشف في نهايتها هوية القاتل بل هي عرض متسرسل لشخصية احد ابرز الفراعنة الذين حكموا مصر القديمة الا وهو الملك اخناتون العظيم الذي نادى بالتوحيد في زمن كانت الوثنية سائدة في البلاد, المسرحية مملة بعض الشيء لكنها جعلتتني انبهر بشخصيته ومحبته لكل مظاهر الفن والجمال وكذلك تعلقه بصديقه المقرب حورمحب رغم اختلافهما الشديد
Profile Image for Dayane.
41 reviews
March 2, 2024
Como amante de tudo relacionado ao Egito, essa leitura foi extremamente prazerosa. Não é 100% factual, mas é poética e tem um nível bem razoável de respeito ao que historicamente ocorreu. Achei particularmente bonitas as falas de Akhenaton direcionadas ao deus Aton.
254 reviews
July 17, 2017
I had mixed reactions to this book. Sometimes I loved it, other times I was bored or really hated it. In the end I was crying sad tears.
Profile Image for Gretchen.
461 reviews
January 20, 2019
It’s been a while since I’ve read a play. This was interesting and well written. Makes me curious to read more about the time period and the kings.
Profile Image for Dalia hassan.
174 reviews26 followers
June 1, 2022
تقليدية ومفيش جديد عن الصورة المتعارف عليها مدرسية شوية ومفيش عوامل جذب
Profile Image for Patricia Fischer.
319 reviews4 followers
June 29, 2025
This is a departure for Agatha Christie. It’s not a mystery, but a historical fiction play about an Egyptian pharaoh.
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