This book is fascinating. It covers Kleopatra's early life from age 3 to her early 20's. She was very intelligent with a gift for language and politics. As turbulent as today's political scene is, it cannot begin to compare to the time in which she lived. Not only was it common practice for brother and sister to marry, there was considerable infighting among siblings. You could trust no one! The family trees are incredibly confusing.
The book ends shortly before Kleopatra meets Julius Caesar as she is battling her younger (half)-brother for control of the throne. I'm looking forward to reading Kleopatra II which covers the second half of her life.
Ooh, that sounds interesting! I read a historical fiction book on her a few years ago and loved it. Jeremy is out of town for a few days so I rented the Elizabeth Taylor "Cleopatra" movie - totally excited to see how that plays out!
ReplyDeleteI've started reading this book and really like it so far. I have never heard about this half-sister/step-mother Thea, I'm really curious how much of this is based on historical fact and how much is creative writing. I know that there isn't a lot of known facts surrounding her but those we have are fascinating!
ReplyDeleteI agree - the family trees are very confusing and all the names that I can't pronounce are getting lost too!