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Cleopatra: A Life Paperback – September 6, 2011

by Stacy Schiff (Author)

785 customer reviews

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Her palace shimmered with onyx and gold but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first and poisoned the second; incest and assassination were family specialties. She had children by Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, two of the most prominent Romans of the day. With Antony she would attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spelled both their ends. Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Her supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. From its opening strains of music, this audiobook of Schiff's stellar biography of the Egyptian queen rewards the intellect and the senses. As Schiff dusts away history's spider webs, romance's distortions, and sexism's corruptions to reveal the true (or at least the truest possible) portrait of Cleopatra, Robin Miles's voice is deep, confiding, the perfect instrument to introduce a history that has been variously forgotten, misunderstood, or suppressed. Her enunciation is crisp, her pacing pure charm: she wrings every sentence for meaning, irony, and wit, taking us through pages of description or analysis with a stately pace. A Little, Brown hardcover. (Nov.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

For those who think they know enough about Cleopatra or have the enigmatic Egyptian queen all figured out, think again. Schiff, demonstrating the same narrative flair that captivated readers of her Pulitzer Prize–winning Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) (1999), provides a new interpretation of the life of one of history’s most enduringly intriguing women. Rather than a devastatingly beautiful femme fatale, Cleopatra, according to Schiff, was a shrewd power broker who knew how to use her manifold gifts—wealth, power, and intelligence—to negotiate advantageous political deals and military alliances. Though long on facts and short on myth, this stellar biography is still a page-turner; in fact, because this portrait is grounded so thoroughly in historical context, it is even more extraordinary than the more fanciful legend. Cleopatra emerges as a groundbreaking female leader, relying on her wits, determination, and political acumen rather than sex appeal to astutely wield her power in order to get the job done. Ancient Egypt never goes out of style, and Cleopatra continues to captivate successive generations. --Margaret Flanagan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product details

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Back Bay Books; Reprint edition (September 6, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316001945
ISBN-13: 978-0316001946
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 785 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15 in Books > History > Ancient Civilizations > Egypt
- #29 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Middle East
- #57 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Royalty

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Top customer reviews

Interesting and Insightful

ByJLeeVINE VOICEon March 22, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Stacy Schiff has provided us with a fascinating “biography” of Cleopatra. I put that word in quotes on purpose, as, of course, it is impossible to write a true biography of someone we know only from the writings of her more-or-less contemporary enemies and from the writings of those who came later and defined her by their own prejudices.

We know next to nothing about Cleopatra’s early years. She is a young woman when we first encounter her. Much of the first part of the book is more about Julius Caesar; to history, she is important only through him. It is only after his death that Cleopatra, to history, becomes a major player in her own story.

I thought I knew everything there was to know about Cleopatra, but there were some surprises in this book. That said, this is not an introductory work on Cleopatra or her times. Instead, it is a complement to other works. It is very interesting, very insightful, and very worth reading.

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Like It

ByShirley Pentoon May 7, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I bought this for my mother and she said that the book changed the way that she thought things happened at that time. it was very eye opening and in someplaces hard to get through She was glad to read it.

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Cover as interesting than the book

ByMary Reinerton January 5, 2011

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Our book club is reading this based on all the hype (and the cover which is wonderful). After almost forcing myself through the first half of the book, I was rewarded during the second half. Truly this was an amazing woman who was living in amazing times. And, this just proves that people don't really change. The politics, greed, power, lust, love, and jealousy of the powerful affected the masses and forged history. Have times really changed?

The book reads at times like a college textbook, but at other times more like an interesting news article. Thankfully, the references are at the end and the footnotes are appropriate, only providing a bit of background information. However, the book could certainly have been enhanced by a few maps, a biographical listing of the many historical figures and a more thorough index. For example, Cleopatra's father is Ptolemy VII, but after first introducing him (confusing again because lots of Ptolemy's), he is referred to as Auletes. But later he might again be referred to as Ptolemy. If you have many breaks in the reading, total confusion. And, "Auletes" is not listed in the index as such but under Ptolemy. This could be chalked up as sloppy reading on my part, but remember it is hyped to "read as a novel." Places and names simply need more information.

In short, this is definitely an act of scholarship that is presented in an interesting manner. Cleopatra was a complicated woman so the book is complicated as well.

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Excellent ! Cleopatra is a boss for sure!

ByVicki Reeveon July 22, 2017

Format: Audio CDVerified Purchase

Stacy shiff tells a great true story. I honestly thought i knew everything i needed to know about Cleopatra and her life . But i was wrong. Filled with intrigue and facts of her most wonderful, exciting ,and cut short to soon life . Great read great listen . I have both !

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Schiff uncovers the "real" Cleopatra

Bykaye adkinson May 4, 2013

Verified Purchase

Writing about the historical Cleopatra is a daunting task but Stacy Schiff managed to create an extremely readable and authoritative biography Records concerning the period are sketchy and more legend than history exists about this fascinating queen. Sifting through the many historians' versions of her life and those of the Romans with which she lived and worked is difficult enough but when one tries to verify the disparaging and untrue accounts of her as a woman as well as a monarch,ferreting out the "truth" is monumentally difficult. Nevertheless, Schiff has created an authoritative and very readable account of one of history's most beguiling and powerful individuals, through painstaking research and excellent judgment.

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History of Cleopatra Revealed

ByShae Johnsonon December 28, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Stacy Schiff reveals as much truth as she can about Cleopatra's life and ruling. I am enthralled and amazed with all that the city of Alexandra offered. Not only did this city have wealth beyond imagination, but it was a cultural hub of the world. Cleopatra ruled this amazing city with cunning intelligence. Historians and literary writers have villanized and sexualized her. It is believed they did so because Cleopatra threatened male rulers with her intelligence--something male rulers dud not want to accept--a woman out thinking them. Good history analysis.

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interesting but not great

ByMurray H. Siegelon June 7, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

"Cleopatra: A Life" was an interesting read but I would not call it a great biography. I realize there is little thai was written while Cleopatra was alive that survives. I really was not sure how much the author used literary license to describe evnts. I learned a number of "facts" about Cleopatra, Antony and others that I had not known. If you believe the book, you would have to ask how a woman of superior intelligence such as Cleopatra could make so many strategic errors and not preserve her own life. How could a brilliant general such as Antony fail in his tactics. I guess you v\can blame it on love and then we are back to Liz Taylor and Richard Burton.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Not worth the time or effort.

ByMatthew C. Hendersonon December 21, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is simultaneously over- and underwritten. It's overwritten in that the prose is showy and prolix -- lots of padding and useless rhetorical flourishes. It's underwritten in the sense that there is very little that is actually about Cleopatra herself in it. There's quite a lot of (ostentatious) "contextualization" and speculation, but the book does a terrible job of actually conveying who Cleopatra was (or even might have been) as a person. I almost never quit a book before finishing but I did with this one. Disappointing.

0Comment 22 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Most recent customer reviews

Memorable & Informative History

One of the most memorable book I've read. Ms Schiff writes wonderfully, researches carefully, and speculates imaginatively, yet without leading readers astray.Star Readers: from out of the east Read more

Published 13 days ago by D.A. Nygaard

An easy to read book on Cleopatra.

Enjoyed thoroughly reading the history of Clepatra. A concise and fun biography.

Published 1 month ago by ann

Fair reading

Interesting but sometimes confusing. It jumped around a lot HAD problems following it at times. I did learn a few things.

Published 1 month ago by Kindle Customer

Five Stars

Interesting but not a page turner

Published 1 month ago by Gloria S.

A good source of information on a critical juncture of the Roman Nation

This book filled for me certain gaps in my knowledge of Julius Caesar. It also allowed me a peek into the lives of Mark Antony, Octavian, Fulvia, Octavian's sister, Herod and,...Read more

Published 2 months ago by Harmonious

and entertaining which made it just the type of history book that I enjoy the most

Cleopatra was well-written, interesting, and entertaining which made it just the type of history book that I enjoy the most.Read more

Published 2 months ago by Samantha

Great biography of a great lady

Great biography of a woman in Roman times trying to keep Egypt out of the grasp of the Roman Empire.Read more

Published 3 months ago by SEAL Dad

Interesting book. Made the people of that age seem ...

Interesting book. Made the people of that age seem real.

Published 3 months ago by Betty Birnbaum

Five Stars

One of my favorite books of all time.

Published 4 months ago by joanne bradley

Impressively researched

The author makes Cleopatra come to life and makes the case for giving her the respect she is due as a great leader of the time. What is truly impressive is the research Ms.Read more

Published 4 months ago by Barbara B

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