Cleopatra

February 15, 2021
A readable narrative of the legendary Egyptian queen that combines scholarship with novelistic detail and character depth. First published in Italy in 2018, this popular history captures the essence of one of the most iconic figures in world history, a "stunning-looking, intelligent, and elegant woman with a deep gaze, and oozing sensuality." Italian scholar, paleontologist, and journalist Angela focuses his inquiry on a key question, one that Cleopatra scholars have explored for centuries: "How did a delicate, lone woman, in an ancient world dominated by men, lead the kingdom of Egypt to its greatest expansion ever and become one of history's brightest stars?" The author devotes the first 100 pages of his lengthy study building up to the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.E., showing how the watershed event affected Cleopatra's own vulnerable standing in the geopolitical realm. She took protection under Rome to stabilize her position of power in relation to her ambitious brothers and ensure Egypt's autonomy. Upon Caesar's death, however, she had to cultivate good standing with the new leadership. Using her singular combination of beauty, confidence, intelligence, and cunning, she was able to seduce Mark Antony, a process that Angela re-creates with fairly over-the-top description. Notwithstanding the author's lapses into overheated language ("we can picture the queen on her bed, her curves rising with every breath, as she gazes at Antony confidently, intensely, invitingly, her full lips half open"), he effectively draws on previous scholarship, wading through legend and myth to get at the truth of what actually occurred. Angela engages readers with rhetorical questions and emphasizes that Cleopatra was a thoroughly modern woman, instrumental in paving the way for the Roman Empire under the ruthless Octavian. "Cleopatra is not only an alluring woman and a queen very capable of managing power," he writes, "but also an incredible historical catalyst." A character-rich historical biography that will have special appeal to young students of history.

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March 1, 2021
The English translation of Angela's Cleopatra focuses on a time of great upheaval in the ancient world--the transition of Rome from Republic to Empire--through the lives of six major players. Besides the titular Egyptian ruler, they are Caesar, Brutus, Mark Antony, Cassius, and Octavian. By the end of the story only the last would still live. Angela narrates lush descriptions of historic places and events as he presents the actions of each character and describes possible emotions and motivations for their choices. Cleopatra is centered as a catalytic figure, someone whose movements affected not only her contemporary world but the greater view of history. Her acumen and intelligence are detailed as well as her beauty, though it is admitted that the latter is frequently drawn from biased accounts that painted her as only a seductress. The political machinations, betrayal, and battles may appeal to those fans of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series interested in a real-world game of thrones.

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