Customer Reviews

The Memoirs of Cleopatra

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4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Since childhood, the story of the legendary Ptolemaic Queen has captured my imagination. Throughout the years, I have read many books on Cleopatra - many of which have remained faithful to the ancient sources, however biased as they may seem. After buying this book on a whim, assuming that this novel was simply one more incorrect reinterpration of history and past novels previously read - a blatant reiteration of Plutarch et al. - I now admit that I was was wrong! The extensive attention given to detail and characterizations, the scope and magnitude of this novel are impressive! Margaret George has done extensive research into the time of the fabled Queen of Egypt and brings Cleopatra's world to life, not only referencing from ancient texts but also drawing upon the more modern-day sources. This engaging novel allows the reader to transcend the present and be transported into a fabled world, one which has captivated writers throught the centuries, a story which brings the tale of Cleopatra and her contemporaries into the immediate. In this book, you come to understand why the main characters - Caesar, Cleopatra, Antony and Octavian - held the fate of the known world in their hands. Ms. George takes pain-staking effort to scratch beyond the surface of the Cleopatra-myth and reveal these godly, yet wonderfully all too-human personalities that transcend time: the characters in this novel are complex and multi-dimensional, grand and legendary, even in their most vulnerable moments. Via this window into Cleopatra's world, you experience every nuance of expression; her descriptions appeal to every sense. Within these pages, you share Cleopatra's joys and pain, witness her triumphs and heart-wrenching sorrows. You experience the range of emotion: her sense of majesty as Caesar confirms her a sole ruler of Egypt, you feel her passion for Antony, know her rage upon betrayal and suffer through her final defeat. I was particularly pleased by the fact that the book (more so than in the past) depicts Cleopatra less as an evil Eastern seductress and more as an able queen and mother; Julius Caesar is seen as a mortal, and not as a deified individual, and Marc Antony ( who in the past has been much-maligned ) is allowed to be viewed in a more favorable light as a great and able Roman leader, and not simply as the emasculated shell of a man that his enemies and successive pro-Augustan authors have portrayed him to have been.

On a grand scale, Ms. George conjures forth an intriguing tale of epic proportions into this well-crafted account of a time long-gone, but not forgotten. For those of you who are interested in this tumultuous, but extremely fascinating period of history, indulge yourself and read this book! Sip a glass of wine in your finest crystal goblet, light several fragrant candles and play some soothing music. Take that journey and let your imagination soar - you are in for a delightful experience!

It's really a stunning work, and having now done most of the research myself, I can see that Margaret George has made very historically correct, or at least acceptable choices. Sometimes all you can do is choose when there is conflicting evidence. Margaret George is writing for Cleopatra's side, so if there's a dispute or an interpretation of propaganda, she resolves it in Cleopatra's favor. (Such as the death of her youngest brother Ptolemy.)

On the one hand, writing a story about this period of history is a no-brainer. It's one of the most compelling love-stories of all time. You really can't screw it up. On the other hand, she does a beautiful portrayal of the major characters in the book. Caesar sweeps the reader off their feet--as if he were one of those heroes in a romance novel, flawed only insofar as his imperfections will make the reader love him. When he dies, one does feel the momentary blotting out of the sun.

Cleopatra herself, tireless, shrewd and inspiring. We wonder if we could have gone on in similar circumstances the way she did, time and time again.

In truth, but for one very talented admiral Agrippa, our lives could all be very different today. Antony might have been the perfection that died with Caesar. But with the war having gone the other way, it's Antony that had to be the greatest challenge to Margaret George as a writer. Lets face it. He's history's biggest loser. And all the propaganda of the time paints him as unmanly, foolish, drunken, and weak. Margaret George uses his letters to revive a different kind of Antony. One who is manly and warm-hearted, and dreadfully, tragically, honorable.

Margaret George makes Antony lovable in a way that even Richard Burton's massive acting talent, Elizabeth Taylor's passion, and all the money in Hollywood could not. And for that alone, she must be honored.

Fantastic work.

I enjoy historical fiction not only for the sheer pleasure of reading, but also for the acquisition of knowledge. I am happy to say that all of Margaret George's books succeed on both levels. Reading a book in this genre always spurs me to further reading on the period, and it's always disappointing to find that an author has played fast and loose with historical facts to write a good story. George stays well within acceptable guidelines when creating her story and still manages to write fascinating material.

'The Memoirs of Cleopatra' did read a little more like a romance novel than George's other books, although it's hard to blame her - Cleopatra is a bit more romantic a subject than Henry VIII. And while I did find that I began to be suspicious of the sympathetic treatment 'Memoirs' gave its subject, I don't believe that is a shortcoming, but rather an inevitability of a good biographer identifying with her subject.

I disagree with other reviewers that the book was too long; while Cleopatra's life was short, it was thick with events too important to leave out of her life story. On the whole I found the book entertaining and educational; what more can you ask for?

I am a prolific reader, at about 50 or so books a year and accurate historical fiction is my biggest passion. This book is one of the best researched, best written novels I have ever had the pleasure to read. I hated for it to end, especially knowing how it had to end.
I laughed with Cleopatra, I cried with her, I fell in love with Marc Antony, and I hated Octavian. Ms George is a writer of exquisite talent. She brings to life an epic time period, major historical events, and bigger than life characters realistically, beliveably and seamlessly.
I would recommend this book, and I am looking forward to reading her other works.

I've done slight research on Cleopatra in the past so I'm easiy disappointed when she seems wrongly or sloppily portrayed in books or movies. If there's any author out there who is perfect for writing Cleopatra's biography (voiced as an autobiography) it's Margaret George. The story is beautifully and gracefully woven together from the first page and once I started I did not want to put it down. Of course I had to, many times, since the book is over 900 pages long, but that just made it better because there was more too read - I didn't want it to end. George pays immense attention to detail to give the reader a real view not only of who Cleopatra was, but what the culture and time period and location she lived in were really like. George also does an brilliant job of portraying Cleopatra as a real, albeit incredible, person that the reader attaches to throughout the book. I enjoyed the book all the way through and I recommend it to anyone, whether they know the story of Cleopatra or not, whether they like histories or romances or instructional pamphlets, they will love this book.

I was excited to read about Cleopatra from the author of such a wonderful historical novel as "Autobiography of Henry VIII". I was also glad that she reverted to using the first person narrative after the less successful re-telling of the story of Mary, Queen of Scotts. I have to say that I enjoyed "The Memoirs of Cleopatra", but it still fell short of my expectations.

The biggest problem I had when reading this book is to tune out "Masters of Rome" series of books by Colleen McCullough. After reading the series, I could only look at the history of Ancient Rome through McCullough's eyes and any departure from her story-telling did not sit well with me, even though Margaret George could have been more accurate with her description.

The first disparity was the identity of Cleopatra's mother. In "Memoirs of Cleopatra", she is described as Ptolemy VII's half-sister. In "Fortune's Favorites" and "Caesar's Women" by Colleen McCullough, she is described as a daughter of King Mithradates of Pontus. This little detail is probably insignificant but McCullough's version makes Cleopatra's connection to Rome's enemies poignant. Also, McCullough describes an affair between Caesar and Mithradates Nysa, who is in her version Cleopatra's mother's sister or Cleopatra's aunt. It would have been an interesting connection to explore if Margaret George decided to follow this version of Cleopatra's story as well. Although she did not explore any of these possibilities, I kept thinking about all of these connections and that hindered my enjoyment of the novel.

The most interesting paradox between the two treatments of Cleopatra's story is the character of Caesar. McCullough devotes all of her books in the series so far to him and he comes out to be a completely different person than Margaret George makes him out to be in "The Memoirs of Cleopatra". I have to agree with George's depiction of Caesar. He is shown as an almost unfalliable person that he undoubtly was (almost being the imperitive word here since McCullough makes him god on earth). However, by this time, I have already bought into McCullough's legend of Caesar so it was a bit disappointing to read about this human version.

Other characters that appear in both places confused me. I liked Marc Antony in George's version better because he appeared as more complex individual than in McCullough's version. In her books, he is just a beast in human clothing. Octavian is shown with more potential for later brilliance in McCullough's version, so that is why I like him better in her novles. George makes his emergence unexpected although she writes from Cleopatra's point of view and that might be how she perceived him. Fulvia is too one-dementional in George's version -- she's just some shameless hussy who can't live without a man by her side. I think Fulvia was too unique and interesting (after all she captured the imaginations of Claudius, Curio, and Antony -- very different and strong individuals) for her time to have so little said about her. But again Cleopatra's perception of her might have been different.

The characters that appear only in George's version are extremely well realized. Olympus and Mardian were fascinating and the author really let us get to know them. Ptolemy Caesar appears as such a wonderful and brilliant boy that his fate is truly tragic. The Kandake was also an unusual strong femal role-model that is hardly, if ever, heard of in the story of Cleopatra.

Cleopatra herself is a wonderful character. George did a wonderful job getting inside her psyche. She was certainly brilliant and a good politian who, alas, followed her heart more often than her reason. I like the way George makes a distinction between Cleopatra's love for Caesar and her love for Antony. The best scene in the whole book is the plan and description of Cleopatra's death. It is amazing that the author can make the readers feel triumphant that this woman is killing herself.

The biggest problems with this novel is that it is too long and there are inconsistancies in the description. Cleopatra's stay in Rome is hard to reconcile with history because of so many inconsistancies. For example, how could she cross the pomerium into the city of Rome if no annoited ruler can do that? The length is really felt here because some key moments in time are summarized while superfluous details are elaborated to the point of boredom.

All in all, this is a great epic on Cleopatra's life.

My husband had this book on his Amazon.com wishlist and his sister decided to purchase it for him at Christmas. Due to his own workload (a budding writer is always under a heavy workload), I picked it up to take a peak. What can I say.. I was rivetted.

This is NOT my normal selection of book, in fact Mary Queen of Scots has been sitting dormant on our shelves for months, having purchased it from a throw out library sale for 50cents. But Margaret George managed to bring her characters - historys characters - and the Roman empire to life for me.

A perfect blend of historical information and interesting interpretations which had me seeking every available opportunity to read. I ended up reading the book within a week - which isn't easy with a 2 and 1 year old.

So enthused was I that I purchased two other books pertaining to Caeser, just to know more, by Colleen McCullough. Her books I find to be left seriously wanting after the brilliance of Margaret George, but unless Ms George plans on writing a book dedicated to Caeser (Marcus Antonius would be great too..) it's all I have at hand.

In closing, one of the best books I've ever read. It opened my eyes to a part of history that before had no interest to me.

I have always been fascinated with Cleopatra, and when I was 13, I picked up this book and thought, I don't think I can get through this. Once I started reading, however, I began to think differently. This book keeps you on the egde, and puts you right there in ancient Alexandria. The book is written from the viewpoint of Cleopatra, whose voice is so rarely heard. She is one of the most discriminated women in history. Many think of her as a seductress that stole away married men from their true wives. This book shows a more human side to Cleopatra- a real person, with feelings and emotions. We go through her famous life, and on to her tragic death. People who think they know all about Cleopatra should read this book. They will find out so much more about her and her life. After reading this book, I searched for others, but none measured up. The writing quality Ms. George displays is amazing. When reading the detailed descriptions, you feel like you are right there. I loved this book, and you will too. If you love stories with strong female characters this book is for you. Cleopatra Ptolemy VII is my idol, and this book is a fitting tribute.

Margaret George has a real gift for bringing characters to life. Despite the fact that very little verifiable information survives about the real Cleopatra, George's active imagination has created an intriguing and fascinating title character in this epic piece of historical fiction. The author conjures up vivid imagery, peoples the story with three-dimensional characters, and has certainly done her research when it comes to representing Eqyptian and Roman culture of the era. She includes many historical facts, while creatively filling in the blanks with characters and events that are purely products of her wonderfully vivid imagination. The end result of this blend of fact and fiction is a thoroughly enjoyable, highly readable and fascinating account a remarkable (though mostly fabricated) woman.

While I tend to gravitate towards books based entirely on historical fact, I enjoyed Margaret George's Memoires of Cleopatra tremendously. Despite the ponderous size of the book, it's a light read and is immensely entertaining. It would make an excellent vacation book, as it is easy to loose yourself in it. I found myself sneaking it under my desk at work - I simply couldn't put it down. Don't be daunted by the book's length - I was sorry to see it end!

Many readers may now be discouraged from reading this book, thanks to the totally inaccurate ABC re-telling in its recent production of CLEOPATRA. Don't be discouraged! George's account was based on HISTORICAL DIGGING and NOT Hollywood fantasy! Having read several accounts of Cleopatra VII's life, I found George's to be especially refreshing. Her accounting of the Battle of Actium shed important, new historical accounts/theories on what probably happened. History has always been so HARD on both Cleopatra and Antony. Though they both made their share of mistakes (who hasn't?!), George's book strips away the cold marble facades of their museum busts, and places flesh and beating hearts into their characters. And for those who are loath to believe that Octavian (Caesar Augustus) was beyond flaw, remember that the way one acts in victory says MUCH about one's character. The tragedy revealed at the end of the book (the murders of two sons of Cleopatra and Antony, and the destruction of their statues and the smearing of their names) should be evidence enough that sometimes history can be extrememly wrong. Thanks Margaret George for finally telling the OTHER side of the story. It was illuminating, and I cried when Antony died. Readers, get your Kleenex OUT!