hollyrebeccasmith's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Cleopatra's name is one of the most recognized of women throughout history. Yet, what do we truly know about her? Debates rage over whether or not she was beautiful, but that is but a small aspect of her being and her reputation. Though she didn't live to forty, her life was a full and dramatic one. She waged wars, bore children, plotted murders, ruled a wealthy land, was married off to two of her own brothers, and became, in turn, glorious and notorious. Few of her time in history could compare to her wealth, status, and influence.
Compiling sometimes conflicting sources, masterful investigator and storyteller, Stacy Schiff, deftly guides readers through this extraordinary woman's life and times. Schiff also challenges many sexist notions that history is fraught with such as how women are seen to scheme, while men to strategize. Are these not often one and the same?
Impressively researched and skillfully told, Cleopatra: A Life not only teaches about a woman of unprecedented importance to her time and to today, but also to question how and why history is told at all.
_inge_'s review against another edition
I'm not retaining any information right now. The book is too much about the men in Cleopatra's life, not herself. The author mentions at the start that there isn't really much information about her other than when she comes into contact with men, but still too much men. Maybe I'll try the original English later, translations into Dutch sometimes make a book much less readable to me.
skpatton's review against another edition
4.0
Stacy Schiff has given us a well researched retelling of one of the world's most famous women. After reading it, I realized how most of what I knew of her was legend based on the imaginations of great poets and playwrights. In reality, she became a queen at the age of eighteen, was loved by and had children with the two most powerful men of her time, and became the wealthiest ruler in the Mediterranean as well as the most influential women of an era.
library_of_artemis's review against another edition
5.0
If you ask someone to close their eyes and picture Cleopatra they will most likely describe her as beautiful, exotic, and sexy. In actuality Cleopatra was quite average looking, with a hooked nose and pronounced chin, and ethnically more Greek than Egyptian. The historical inaccuracies don’t stop with her looks. For centuries we’ve believed Cicero, Plutarch, and Dio when they said that Cleopatra was a temptress who used her allure to get her way. Schiff takes these subjective accounts of ancient writers and chips away at them using common sense and historical events to reveal the dazzling story of the real Cleopatra, one of the greatest queens who ever ruled. At the height of her power, Egypt controlled the majority of the eastern Mediterranean and held the Roman Empire in it’s pocket. This epic, and dense biography of the last Ptolomic ruler will transport you back to the first century BC and have you clamoring to stand alongside the Queen of the Nile.
kellyxmen's review against another edition
2.0
Mostly it’s not even about Cleopatra.
And the first chapter is mainly like a heads up like: hey we historians actually don’t know much about her at all so…
Here goes 300 pages for some reason.
And most of it isn’t about her.
And the first chapter is mainly like a heads up like: hey we historians actually don’t know much about her at all so…
Here goes 300 pages for some reason.
And most of it isn’t about her.