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144 of 147 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Portal into Cleopatra's World, August 12, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The Memoirs of Cleopatra: A Novel (Paperback)
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!
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101 of 109 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It Makes You Pine for What Might Have Been, March 13, 2003
This review is from: The Memoirs of Cleopatra: A Novel (Paperback)
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.
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A perfect example of the genre, July 3, 2000
This review is from: The Memoirs of Cleopatra: A Novel (Paperback)
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?
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