(From the publisher):
History's most mysterious woman, she gave rise to a thousand myths. Millions of words have been written about her. Now Cleopatra speaks for herself in this sweeping novel of the ancient world as seen from the lofty vantage point of the woman who, along the greatest men of her age, ruled it.
Her subjects saw her as a descendant of the Gods. She prided herself on her noble Greek blood and bearing. Her beauty was so renowned throughout the ancient world that thousands of portraits and statues attempted to capture it; her magnetism so monumental that after her death her enemies destroyed every likeness and not a single one remains. She has been accused of numberless crimes. Only one can be proved—that of ambition.
At fourteen, as a slimly boyish young woman with the political wisdom of an aged court advisor, she swore, "I am the seventh Cleopatra of my name, but I mean the world to forget all the others and remember me alone." The world has remembered, worshipped, wondered.
Teeming with the sights, sounds, and smells of the ancient world—Alexandria shimmering the the midday heat, Rome echoing with the trumpets of its returning legions—The Alexandrian brings Cleopatra, her allies and enemies, subjects and suitors, vividly to life. A girlish romantic, she gave her heart to the golden son of Pompey. A clever queen, she withheld her body until the godlike Julius Caesar came to conquer Alexandria.
Her love for him burned almost as bright as her ambitions for herself. She admired his wisdom and shivered in the knowledge of the bloodbath she had left in his wake throughout the world.
In adoration of Marc Antony she discovered desire and passion. In her lust for immortality she bore four royal children to the ruling Romans of the day. Driven by fierce ambition, she plotted continually and ended a suicide. During her life she won admiration and envy, dwelled in silken luxury, and struggled through harsh political and military reverses, and still she clawed to keep the reins of power in her own delicate hands.
Original title: The Alexandrian
Genre: Fiction→ Historical→ Ancient World (Greece, Rome, etc)