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A Novel
From the internationally bestselling author of Fair Rosaline comes a captivating historical novel—a powerful retelling of the life of one of the most beguiling and misrepresented female figures in history, Cleopatra.
The favored daughter of the Pharaoh, Egyptian Princess Cleopatra spent her childhood hiding amid the scrolls in the great library of Alexandria, dreaming of one day writing her own story.
When her father dies, naming both Cleopatra and her selfish brother Ptolemy as his successors to the throne, danger arises. While the young Queen sails the Nile to greet her people, her brother plots to eliminate her and rule the empire alone.
But while Ptolemy has the power of the kingdom behind him, Cleopatra has her cunning wits. When the great Caesar arrives from Rome, she realizes he could be the key to her salvation—though courting this powerful man could cost her everything.
Can Cleopatra save her life, her throne, and her beloved Egypt and finally write her own history?
Told from the dueling perspectives of Cleopatra and Caesar's mistress Servilia, I Am Cleopatra is a powerful, addictively readable reimagining of the alluring queen's life. A modern retelling that goes beyond previous caricatures, Cleopatra is a fascinating portrait of the flesh-and blood-woman behind the great legend. Natasha Solomons' spellbinding story of female power and fragility, love and loss, fierce friendship and terrible betrayal introduces at last the real Cleopatra in all her glory and vulnerability.
"Detailed descriptions bring the affection, tension, and intrigue of their stories to life. This is a welcome addition to retellings of ancient stories that highlight the perspective of women." —Booklist
"Wonderful...Solomons has a fine eye for the intersection between the politics of the state and of the bedroom. A fresh and lively take on a well-known tale." —The Times (UK)
"The Egyptian queen takes centre-stage; she's a richly drawn character, who's a wily operator in her court's deadly power struggle. There's pomp and splendour in Solomons' sensuous tale, which is lush with exquisite places, heady scents, gold and glory, but there's also the harsh reality of death and bloody betrayal, which is mitigated by the sustaining balm of female friendship." —Daily Mail (UK)
This information about I Am Cleopatra was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Natasha Solomons is the author of five internationally bestselling novels, including Mr Rosenblum's List, The Novel in the Viola, which was chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club, and The Gallery of Vanished Husbands. Natasha lives in Dorset with her son, daughter and her husband, the children's author, David Solomons with whom she also writes screenplays. Her novels have been translated into 17 languages. When not writing in the studio, Natasha can usually be found in her garden.
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