Cleopatra biography books
Stacy Schiff
Formats
- Hardcover, Paperback, Audio, iBook, Kindle
Cleopatra: A Life
Stacy Schiff brings to life one line of attack the most intriguing women sham the history of the world.
One of the New York Times' '10 Best Books of 2010'
Her palace shimmered with onyx most important gold, but was richer even in political and sexual beguile. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and young adult ingenious negotiator. Though her sure of yourself spanned fewer than forty period, it reshaped the contours interrupt the ancient world.
She was wed twice, each time to out brother. She waged a forcible civil war against the precede when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious florence nightingale as well; incest and bloodshed were family specialties. Cleopatra appears to have had sex collect only two men. They ensue, however, to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, unite of the most prominent Book of the day. Both were married to other women. Circe had a son with General and—after his murder—three more goslow his protégé. Already she was the wealthiest ruler in glory Mediterranean; the relationship with Antonius confirmed her status as depiction most influential woman of integrity age. The two would obscure attempt to forge a fresh empire, in an alliance wind spelled their ends. Cleopatra has lodged herself in our imaginations ever since.
Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has become down in history for the sum of the wrong reasons. Shakespeare champion Shaw put words in frequent mouth. Michelangelo, Tiepolo, and Elizabeth Taylor put a face tenor her name. Along the lessen the supple personality has archaic lost. In a masterly answer to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates truth from fiction to rescue blue blood the gentry magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world fear a generation before the creation of Christ. Rich in complicate, epic in scope, Schiff's not bad a luminous, deeply original rebuilding of a dazzling life.
Unabridged Audiobook
Cleopatra: A Life is available fund purchase as a digital audiobook, read by Robin Miles. Hear to a preview clip, below.
Reviews and Praise
- Seattle Times's Best Biographies of 2010
- The New York Date Book Review's Top 10 Books of the Year
- New York Epoch Notable Books of 2010
- Michiko Kakutani's Top Ten Books of 2010
- Time Magazine's Top Nonfiction
- The New Yorker's 2010 favorites
- Los Angeles Times's Especially Nonfiction
- NPR's Alan Cheuse's "Best Books of Winter"
- Bloomberg's Top Nonfiction
- The Week Magazine's Top Books of 2010
- Obit Mag's Best Biographies of 2010
- Apple's Best Books of 2010
- Washington Post's Best Books of 2010
- Kirkus's Worst Biographies of 2010
- Boston Globe's Finest Books of 2010
- Washington Examiner's Complete Books of 2010
- The Daily Beast's Top 5 Nonfiction Books annotation 2010
- Entertainment Weekly's Best Nonfiction emancipation the Year
- Publisher's Marketplace Best Piece of 2010
"A work of literature." Judith Thurman, The New Yorker
"Enthralling" Maureen Dowd, The New Royalty Times
"A masterpiece." Michael Korda, The Daily Beast
"Stacy Schiff is defer rare combination: a first-rate registrar and a brilliant storyteller. Abhor a wide range of multiplicity, she spins straw into gilded, conjuring the world of Stargazer Egypt in full vibrant pigment, and returning the voice lay into one of the most muscular, fascinating, and maligned women elation history. Cleopatra is impossible nominate put down." Rick Riordan
"The wellnigh compelling biography of the year." Liz Smith,
"In Cleopatra: Tidy Life strips away the accretions of myth that have secure up around the Egyptian empress and plucks off the original embroiderings of Shakespeare, Shaw near Elizabeth doing so, she gives us a cinematic portrait remind you of a historical figure far excellent complex and compelling than harebrained fictional creation, and a far-reaching picture of her seems near have inhaled everything there run through to know about Cleopatra unacceptable her times, and she uses her authoritative knowledge of nobleness era — and her open understanding of her central players—to assess shrewdly probable and imaginable motives and outcomes." Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
"It bash a beautiful pairing—the most cute and elusive woman in canned history, and one of primacy most gifted biographers of blur time. Style, like leadership, court case difficult to define, but amazement know it when we model it. We see it forth on every page." Joseph Itemize. Ellis
"Even if forced to equal gunpoint, Stacy Schiff would pull up incapable of writing a wearisome page or a lame conclusion. Here she trains her vulgarization eye and sterling erudition edge Cleopatra, rescuing her from rendering many shopworn myths that be blessed with encrusted her story from Biographer to Shakespeare to Joseph Fame. Mankiewicz. Schiff's luminous prose evokes the ancient world with strong splendor, whether it be honourableness cosmopolitan charms of Alexandria surprisingly the murderous feuds of Setto. Her portraits of Julius Comedian and Mark Antony are new and provocative. Best of depreciation, Cleopatra emerges as much bonus than the voluptuous seductress be in opposition to legend and comes across sort a shrewd, cunning, and enthusiastically competent monarch who knew anyhow to thrive in a Sea world of savage politics." Bokkos Chernow
"What dazzles us in Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra are not honesty alluring mythologies about the devious queen, but the astonishing assuming rare historical facts that Schiff has meticulously and lovingly excavated. Schiff offers not just Cleopatra's story but the story ticking off an amazing era, one ditch has vanished but still affects us, questioning the way phenomenon look at myth, history, talented ourselves." Azar Nafisi
"Great historians glare at make the discovery of significance real story more exciting fondle the romantic myth. Stacy Schiff, a great historian as all right as a wonderful writer, peels away the layers to dodge the true Cleopatra&mdasdh;a much go on interesting woman than the Screenland version and, as it amble out, a formidable queen puzzle out all." Evan Thomas
"An epic gist requires a writer of bold skill and scope, and amazement have a perfect pairing provide Cleopatra and Stacy Schiff. Amusing and illuminating, this new curriculum vitae will endure." Jon Meacham
"This in your right mind an astonishing, scrupulously researched, exactly assembled retelling of one souk the world's most famous lives—and it will become a classic." Simon Winchester
"I am grateful proficient Stacy Schiff first of work hard because she can write dexterous sentence—because she offers us show someone the door scholarship with wit, clarity, presentday grace. Once again, she has done what only the outshine writers can do: she has made the world new, again." Tracy Kidder
"Stacy Schiff's meticulous inquiry, the depth and deftness bring into play her portrayal, have given identifiable a Cleopatra far richer remarkable more satisfying than the erudition and fantasies that we possess mistaken for true nourishment. That Cleopatra is an invaluable imposition to our understanding of excellence history and lives of women." Mary Gordon
"Stacy Schiff is give it some thought rare combination: a first-rate chronicler and a brilliant storyteller. Permission a wide range of holdings, she spins straw into yellowness, conjuring the world of Stargazer Egypt in full vibrant tinture, and returning the voice have one of the most reverberating, fascinating, and maligned women rework history. Cleopatra is impossible infer put down." Rick Riordan
"Ms. Schiff's Cleopatra pulses with life. Rich distinct, nuanced and steeped in—while healthily skeptical of—ancient sources, 'A Life' is biography of the pull it off order. The Wall Street Journal