Product Description

Even as a young child, Kleopatra is demonstrating the charisma and intelligence that will ensure her destiny-and make her the target of her jealous sibling's betrayal. During an Egyptian coup, she and the king are banished to the wordly capital of Rome, where at just 12 years old, she casts off her childhood and accepts the terms of her rightful ascent to power. But the return to Egypt proves less than glorious when her beloved father dies, leaving her vulnerable to banishment once again. This time, however, Kleopatra who has blossomed into not only a shrewd politician but a great beauty, is undaunted. With a warrior's heart, she charges handsome kinsman and lover Archimedes to gather an army, while she readies herself for her most royal challenge yet: to reclaim her throne by forming an alliance with the renowned Julius Caesar-using her most seductive gifts at hand.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1220671 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Another day another cleopatra book
This is not a good book by any definition of the word, the author has managed to take a story which involves incest, politics, lust and romance and turn it into something banal. I love historical fiction but instead of tempting us with descriptions of the past or fleshing our her characters the writer is content to ride on the back of a very old story. The fact that she has chosen to write of the young Cleopatra is perhaps her biggest problem. A nine year olds view of the all those goings on in the palace is only to be guessed at however the heroine reads as neither young or old neither experienced in the world or an innocent. So frankly if she dies on the next page poisoned on the whim of her sister or lives to fight another boring day in Alexandria one is left not really caring. The pace is slow, the people unappealing, the world unbelievable so despite having paid good money for this book and being facinated by the character of Cleopatra, sorry, I gave up at page 144.

Dramatization of the Bare Facts of Kleopatra's Youth
Before reviewing this book, let me note that it is filled with incest, violence, self-mutilation, atrocities, and explicit descriptions of sexual violations and liaisons. The book would be X rated if it were a motion picture. Only those with a strong taste for the bloodier and grittier side of the ancient world will find this book to be enjoyable.

Kleopatra is spelled this way in the book to emphasize the connection of the Ptolemies to their Greek forebearers through Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt. They could usually not speak the language of Egyptians, even though they had been in power for around three centuries. Greek was the official court language. Kleopatra stands for "glory to the father." And that was Kleopatra's strength. She was consistently loyal to her father's interests.

The story tells the few known incidents in Kleopatra's life between ages 3 and 18, prior to meeting Julius Caesar when he arrived in Alexandria to collect a debt owed by Kleopatra's father to a Roman money lender. Most scenes in Kleopatra develop the sibling and political rivalries between Kleopatra and her step-sister, Thea, and her older sister, Berenika.

The Ptolemies were very aggressive in their preference for incest. Kleopatra's father and mother were brother and sister. Her father betrothed Kleopatra to her much younger half-brother, after having married his step-daughter, Thea. If her father had been in better health at the end of his life, he might well have married Kleopatra as well. The entire dynasty was made up of such marriages.

The Ptolemies were not popular in Egypt, and were concerned about the rapid expansion of Rome. Most of the rest of the book develops these domestic and foreign policy issues, as the backdrop against which Kleopatra prepared herself to potentially be a ruler.

I have read a number of histories about Cleopatra, and found the material here to be highly consistent with what is reported in those sources. Obviously, a lot of hard work by Ms. Essex went into preparing this book.

Ultimately, unless these lurid dynastic and political events intrigue you, there is not a lot to draw a reader to this subject. The interesting part of Kleopatra's life starts with the next volume, which is due out in August 2002 according to the sampler section at the end of this novel.

In our age when we see women making strides in all directions, many will be curious about how a woman became only the third female to rule as Pharoah in Egypt. Preparation, loyalty, and a strong will helped, but ultimately there was a lot of serendipity involved. Had there been an older male heir, she would probably never have enjoyed power.

Those who already know the history of how Julius Caesar came to power in Rome and Kleopatra did the same in Egypt will find little need to read this book. Those who do not yet but would like to know the background to Shakespeare's tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra will find this book more appealing than reading a history, assuming they have a strong stomach.

Kleopatra's advisor, Haphaestion, told her, "In matters of state, let your blood run cold." Where in your life do you need to be totally rational in making decisions? Is there some way that you could change your life so that you can be more loving and emotional in your decisions? Which way of deciding do you prefer?

Be loyal to values that are worth upholding!

a terrible book
There is not much good to say about this book. It's badly written, some of the metaphors used are really ridiculous. And apart from that it's full of anachronisms and historical inaccuracies. So don't buy it.