Tagged: cleopatra
The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George
(Cover picture courtesy of Margaret George’s site.)
Bestselling novelist Margaret George brings to life the glittering kingdom of Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, in this luch, sweeping, and richly detailed saga. Told in Cleopatra’s own voice, this is a mesmerizing tale of ambition, passion, and betrayl, which begins when the twenty-year-old queen seeks out the most powerful man in the world, Julius Caesar, and does not end until, having survived the assassination of Caesar and the defeat of the second man she loves, Marc Antony, she plots her own death rather than be paraded in triumph through the streets of Rome.
This really is a monster of a book. Compared to some books I’ve read it’s not that long, only 964 pages, but the pages are huge and that’s why it took me months to finish this book. But in the end it was completely worth it, which is why I chose it for my 500th book review!
The thing I liked most about The Memoirs of Cleopatra wasn’t even the characters; it was the writing itself. Margaret George has a beautiful, captivating style that brings history to life. I could smell the slums of Rome, feel the hot Egyptian air on my skin in the temple of Philae and could even smell the perfumes and the food. Her descriptions appeal to all five of the reader’s senses but she never really belabors the point. She finds that perfect balance between Cleopatra’s own introspective nature and describing the scene around her for readers.
The characters were, of course, fantastic. Cleopatra is far from perfect, believe me, but Margaret George paints her not as a goddess, man-eater or ruthless despot, but rather as a human being. She loves, fights, rages, cries, smiles, laughs and does all of the things that normal human beings would do, especially under the amount of pressure she had throughout her whole life. Cleopatra comes off as an amazing character and this is definitely one of the more memorable portrayals of the last Pharaoh that I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a lot).
Julius Caesar was pretty much as I expected but Marc Antony was interesting. In this version it’s clear that he does struggle from some depression and feelings of inadequacy as Cleopatra pushes him to do the things she’s always wanted to do. It’s like she’s trying to live through him as a man but Antony just can’t measure up, causing him to turn to alcohol. This type of Antony has been portrayed before, but never quite as sympathetically as Margaret George portrays him. In the end, despite his weaknesses, I felt sad when he took his own life.
Margaret George has very obviously done her research here. The historical details are accurate as well as the broader strokes of the events of the time. Of course she’s had to fill in some gaps with her own imagination, but she sticks as close to reality as possible. Honestly, you’d be hard-pressed to find a novel that is better researched but so well written.
Basically, this was worth the months of reading and I couldn’t have picked a better book for my 500th review milestone. If you like Cleopatra or ancient Egypt in general I can’t recommend this one enough.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter
(Cover picture courtesy of The Book Girl Recommends.)
Princess of Egypt
Cleopatra Selene is the only daughter of the brilliant Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and General Marcus Antonius of Rome. She’s grown up with jewels on her arms and servants at her feet, and she longs to follow her mother in becoming a great and powerful queen.
Prisoner of Rome
Then the Roman ruler, Octavianus, launches a war that destroys all Selene has ever known. Taken to live in his palace in Rome, she vows to defeat him and reclaim her kingdom at all costs. Yet Selene soon finds herself torn between two young men and two paths to power. Will love distract her from her goal—or help her achieve her true destiny?
Epic in scope and ravishing in detail, this novel reveals the remarkable true story of a girl long hidden in history: the extraordinary Cleopatra Selene.
I know you won’t believe it, but I found something in this book that is generally an oxymoron: a believable love triangle. Yes, I found the rarest kind of YA book out there! It’s believable and it resolves itself in the end where the main character makes a powerful decision rather than angsting over who she should choose.
After reading Michelle Moran’s Cleopatra’s Daughter, I thought that Cleopatra’s Moon wouldn’t be much different. But I am so glad I decided to buy Vicky Alvear Shecter’s book! It had a completely different perspective from Moran’s and the sort of antagonist of the novel came completely out of nowhere. Hint: it’s definitely not who you think it is but it makes sense when you look back in the story. Cleopatra Selene comes off as a strong character who comes by her feminism honestly in a world dominated by men, rather than being your stereotypical girl with 21st century perspectives in historical fiction. You can really feel her anguish at her mother’s and father’s deaths as well as the growing distance between herself and her twin, Alexander Helios.
Not only that, the men in her life are quite believable as well. Juba comes off as aloof and thoroughly Romanized in the beginning, but we start to see his strength of character later on. Of course Marcellus is incredibly charming but intelligent as well and a potential path to power for Selene. I like how Selene doesn’t just stand by as boys drool over her; she actively pursues them once she realizes their feelings and tries to reconcile her own. She also has incredible determination when it comes to reclaiming her birthright and that makes her both believable as a daughter of Cleopatra and a character everyone will cheer for.
As for the historical accuracy, I can’t nitpick. Some of the mystery surrounding events at the time allows for a little creative license and Vicky Alvear Shecter doesn’t take it over the top. She fills in gaps with plausible explanations and where there are historical records, sticks to them very well. Her portrayals of historical figures are realistic and you kind of get the feeling that hey, this is what they could have really been like. That, my friends, is great writing combined with great research. What more can you ask for in historical fiction, really?
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Portrayal of Cleopatra in Historical Fiction
Cleopatra has been a favourite subject of many artists.
Cleopatra is a cultural phenomenon; you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has not at least heard her name. There are movies, plays, songs and (of course) books about her life, but I’m only focusing on one of these mediums: books. How is Cleopatra portrayed in historical fiction and just how accurate are these portrayals?
First, we have to take a look at the basics of her life. Cleopatra VII Philopator (Father-Lover) was the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt in most people’s eyes. She was, however, part of the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty and the last Egyptian pharaohs had been long dead by her time. It is said she was fluent in nine languages, including Egyptian, which endeared her to the native Egyptian population the typically Greek-speaking Ptolemies ruled over.
Cleopatra, as was Egyptian tradition, ruled jointly with her father and later her two brothers in the typical brother-sister marriages. Why? According to Egyptian tradition, it was the royal women that held the power to legitimize the males. In addition to that, nearly all of the gods were married to their siblings. Isis and Osiris, Set and Nepthys, Nut and Geb. And were the pharaohs not the sons of gods? Well, that was the theory anyway. Continue reading
Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile by Kristiana Gregory
(Cover picture courtesy of Elmhurst.)
3 Januarius, Morning
I could feel my insides shaking. Would this sister try to poison me? Yes, I believe so. As for my other older sister, Berenice—never! She and I adore each other even though I am eight years younger.
I took the cup and raised it toward Tryphaena as if toasting her, but really I was watching the liquid, looking for oil floating on its surface, or powder sticking to the sides of the cup. If I suspected poison and tossed it into the pool, she would have her guards behead me on the spot. If it was indeed poison, one sip and I could die…
My eyes closed as I took the first sip, as if savoring such an excellent taste, but really my thought was, O Isis, I am afraid….My stomach turned with nervousness, or was it from a fearsome death beginning in me?
The Royal Diaries series is a great one for young girls to learn about the lives of famous women. And no woman is more famous than Cleopatra VII, who has become a cultural phenomenon. So who was she? What was she like as a child? Kristiana Gregory tries to answer that question by writing a diary from Cleopatra’s own point of view.
What I like about Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile is that it doesn’t feel like you’re reading a diary. It feels like you’re seeing the events happen in real time as Cleopatra describes them, unlike some of the other books in the series. Kristiana Gregory obviously put a lot of research into her novel and it shines through in the little details about ancient Egyptian life. The narrative takes a different direction than a lot of books about Cleopatra’s younger years as it shows her going to Rome with her father, which may or may not be true—after all, it is ancient history. This is where she meets Marc Antony and helps her father, who speaks no Latin, navigate Roman politics.
Readers will fall in love with Cleopatra. She’s resourceful, strong and is, at the same time, a teenage girl at heart. She falls in love, she gets scared, she doubts herself…most readers will be able to relate to her.
The only caveat I have about this book is the religious aspect. Cleopatra admires Nefertiti and Akhenaten for their monotheism, even though no one by the Ptolemaic period would have had any clue who they were as the city they built (Akhetaten) was torn apart brick by brick and used in other Pharaohs’ monuments.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of Small Review.)
It is the first century B. C. Cleopatra, the third of the pharaoh’s six children, is one that her father has chosen to be the next queen of Egypt. But when King Ptolmey is forced into exile, Cleopatra is left alone to fend for herself in a palace rife with intrigue and murder. Smart, courageous, ambitious and sensuously beautiful, she possesses the charm to cause two of history’s most famous leader’s to fall in love with her. But as her cruel sister plot to steal the throne, Cleopatra realizes there is only one person on whom you can rely—herself.
In Cleopatra Confesses, award-winning author Carolyn Meyer writes the story of the teenage girl who would become Egypt’s most unforgettable queen from her early years to her ultimate destiny.
This is not my favourite interpretation of Cleopatra’s story, but it certainly paints her in a much more sympathetic light. It’s also more appropriate for younger teens than my favourite one, Hand of Isis.
Cleopatra Confesses is the first-person account of the life and death of Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt. It tells the story starting with her unhappy childhood, where her sisters Berenike and Tryphaena taunt her mercilessly. As is expected, the life of a princess and the taunts of her older sisters harden the young Cleopatra and teach her she can only rely on herself. This transition from innocent child to slightly cynical teenager takes place gradually and many young readers will be able to relate to it.
As with all of Carolyn Meyer’s work, it is incredibly historically accurate without sacrificing a good plot. She inserts real historical figures and makes them breathe, makes them more accessible to the modern reader. And of course the best part is that Carolyn Meyer has joined many of the authors who are working to rehabilitate the maligned figure of Cleopatra and give her a voice after two thousand years of silence.
This is historical fiction at its finest, but readers should know that there is mature content including violence and sexuality. Personally, I would recommend it for 13+, but it depends largely on the maturity level of the reader.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.