The Memoirs of Cleopatra
A Novel
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- USD 14.99
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- USD 14.99
Descripción editorial
Bestselling novelist Margaret George brings to life the glittering kingdom of Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, in this lush, sweeping, and richly detailed saga, the basis for the Cleopatra TV mini-series.
Told in Cleopatra's own voice, The Memoirs of Cleopatra is a mesmerizing tale of ambition, passion, and betrayal in the ancient Egyptian world, which begins when the twenty-year-old queen seeks out the most powerful man in the world, Julius Caesar, and does not end until, having survived the assassination of Caesar and the defeat of the second man she loves, Marc Antony, she plots her own death rather than be paraded in triumph through the streets of Rome.
Most of all, in its richness and authenticity, it is an irresistible story that reveals why Margaret George's work has been widely acclaimed as "the best kind of historical novel, one the reader can't wait to get lost in." (San Francisco Chronicle).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Royal barges, sacred asps, eunuchs and chariot races all make an appearance in George's third epic (after The Autobiography of Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles), a huge biographical novel that is as disciplined as it is ambitious. The four principal characters are Caesar, Marcus Antonius, Octavian and the indomitable Cleopatra herself. George buoys them with a supporting cast of, literally, thousands and spans the ancient globe. She renders her myriad settings, whether in Athens, Syria, Actium or elsewhere, palpably real. The smell of the Alexandrian harbor, the taste of pomegranates, the visual grandeur of the pyramids and the clash of swords all come alive in her hands. Battles physical and political--Caesar's North African campaign, the Alexandrian War, the ill-fated struggle between Antony and Octavian for control of the world--are evoked with skill and passion, as are more domestic conflicts. Cleopatra's love for the much older Caesar, "he who had blotted out the sky," is rivaled only by her later feelings for Antony, upon whose death "the whole world rolled away." Not merely a great lover, Cleopatra emerges here as a compassionate ruler and political genius. It is a tribute to George's artistry that the strings are hidden, that not once will readers doubt that the Queen of Egypt is telling the tale. In nearly a thousand pages, she creates countless memorable moments, as when Antony and Cleopatra stroll on the island of Samos at night, listening to Dionysian singing in the distance. Readers looking to be transported to another place and time will find their magic carpet here. 200,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; mini-series rights sold to Robert Halmi/Hallmark/ABC-TV; author tour.
