Cleopatra: A Life
- ISBN-10
- 0316121800
- ISBN-13
- 9780316121804
- Series
- Cleopatra
- Category
- Biography & Autobiography
- Pages
- 432
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2010-11-01
- Publisher
- Little, Brown
- Author
- Stacy Schiff
Description
The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world: Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt. Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious sister as well; incest and assassination were family specialties. Cleopatra appears to have had sex with only two men. They happen, however, to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, among the most prominent Romans of the day. Both were married to other women. Cleopatra had a child with Caesar and--after his murder--three more with his protégé. Already she was the wealthiest ruler in the Mediterranean; the relationship with Antony confirmed her status as the most influential woman of the age. The two would together attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spelled their ends. Cleopatra has lodged herself in our imaginations ever since. Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Shakespeare and Shaw put words in her mouth. Michelangelo, Tiepolo, and Elizabeth Taylor put a face to her name. Along the way, Cleopatra's supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. Rich in detail, epic in scope, Schiff 's is a luminous, deeply original reconstruction of a dazzling life.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2021-03-23
- 448 pages
- Ebook
- HarperCollins
Similar books
-
Cleopatra Rules!: The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen
By Vicky Alvear ShecterThis book about Egypt's last and most famous pharaoh features an inviting text, many sidebars, and excellent color illustrations: maps, photos of ancient artifacts, and artworks from many historical periods.
-
Cleopatra: A Biography
By Duane W. RollerThat Cleopatra ultimately lost to her Roman opponents, Roller contends, in no way diminishes her abilities. "Roller tells his tale smoothly and accessibly.
-
Cleopatra
By Diane Stanley, Peter VennemaA biography of Cleopatra, who became queen of Egypt at the age of eighteen and maintained power over her kingdom through her alliances with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony.
-
Cleopatra
By Barbara Kramer"Level 3 fluent reader"--Page 4 of cover.
-
Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen
By Susan BlackabyProfiles the last queen of Egypt, who gained and maintained power over her kingdom through her alliance with Julius Caesar and later Marc Antony.
-
Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt
By Joyce TyldesleyAn Egyptologist strips away preconceptions about Cleopatra in a biography of the extraordinary Egyptian queen, detailing her remarkable intelligence and linguistic expertise, her liaisons with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, her ruthless ...
-
Antony and Cleopatra
By William ShakespeareBold, rich, and splendid in its setting and emotions, Antony And Cleopatra ranks among Shakespeare's supreme achievements.
-
Cleopatra: A Life
By Stacy SchiffCleopatra, shrewd strategist and ingenious negotiator; though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world"--Publisher'd description.
-
Cleopatra: A Sphinx Revisited
By Margaret M. MilesThe essays in this volume address Cleopatra's life and legacy, presenting fresh examinations of her decisions and actions, the influence of contemporary Egyptian culture on Rome, and the enduring Roman fascination with her story, which ...
-
Antony and Cleopatra
By Adrian GoldsworthyThe epic story of one of the most famous love affairs in history, by the bestselling author of Caesar.