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 ...
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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 prot�g�. 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.
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Edition:
Large Print edition Large type / large print
Publisher:
Little Brown and Company
Published:
2010
Language:
English
Alibris ID:
17447637862
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Seller's Description:
Fine. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 640 p. Contains: Unspecified. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Edition:
Large Print edition Large type / large print
Publisher:
Little Brown and Company
Published:
2010
Language:
English
Alibris ID:
18112067530
Shipping Options:
Standard Shipping: $4.65
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. With remainder mark. Large Print edition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
Edition:
Large Print edition Large type / large print
Publisher:
Little Brown and Company
Published:
2010
Language:
English
Alibris ID:
17717695044
Shipping Options:
Standard Shipping: $4.65
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. Book. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Hardcover, large print 2010 edition. Dust jacket and boards in fine condition. Binding firm. Pages unmarked and clean. (
The writer of this book seems to try to outdo herself with each sarcastic comment. I bought the book to read about Cleopatra, not to read the writer's ongoing effort to outdo her own sarcasm with each sentence. Maybe I don't get it, maybe I just don't get historian "humor", but if this is it, I hope I never run into it again. I'd rather just have the facts as the writer knows them than her effort to insert her own sarcasm on every page. I hope I never have the bad luck to read anything else from this author.
Jan C
Jul 19, 2012
Informative, but dry as dust, much like Cleo's present state.
Richard W
Apr 28, 2011
appropriate while visiting Turkey
I read Cleopatra while touring Turkey. I felt it was very helpful in understanding the Greek gods and mythology that preceded Christianity and Islam. However it did get a little repetitive at times.
BD0407
Apr 24, 2011
I LOVED THIS BOOK-SO MUCH FACT, FICTION AND MYTH MIXED--AN EXCELLENT READ. IT SURE WILL BE A CHALLENGE TO THE MOVIE MAKERS.
