"Whether or not Caesar had considered annexing Egypt he had clearly discovered that Cleopatra was in many respects similar to her country: a shame to lose, a risk to conquer, a headache to govern."
-from the book
Well, they say there is a first time for everything and this is the first Page Turners book selection I did not finish in the 6 years I have led the group! I COULD have finished it but decided there are SO many books out there to enjoy and I was NOT enjoying this one. In fact I found it pretty boring. I forced myself to read three chapters, 81 pages, and that was all could take.
One must give credit to the author for her amazing research into an intriguing woman but one whose background is pretty obscure in places. She quoted historians like Plutarch and Dio and really knew the history and geography but that was the problem. The book read more like a history textbook than any other biography I have ever read. I would give the book a 2 because of the thorough preparation and what must have been a time-consuming task.
I did learn some things such as the common practice of incest in the aristocracy of this culture. Cleopatra was married to at least one brother and this was apparently quite acceptable, even encouraged. There was also a great deal of violence within families. I was surprised to learn the term "pharaoh" meant "the greatest household" in ancient Egypt. This helps a bit in the study of the Bible.
I would recommend this one to academic types, especially those who teach ancient history. I guess I just read too much historical fiction and was hoping to see Cleopatra as a bit more human.
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