Cleopatra: Histories, Dreams and Distortions

The author states (pg 295) that "I have not, in this book, attempted to strip away illusions and present Cleopatra plane. I cannot do it. I do not know her. I, like all the other writers whose works I have dissected, know only her depictions and descriptions, masks made by others in her image. Those representations, and their makers, have been my study."

So this is not a history of Cleopatra, or a biography of her either. I would call it more of a cultural history; the cultural history and significance of her story. Since the "real" Cleopatra is for all intents and purposes "unknowable", as her story has been distorted through the lens of time, and culture, this is a look at those multiple histories mean, to the audience they were show more intended for, and what we can gleen from them today.

Cleopatra is presented as many different women, depending again on the time of the writing, and the bias of the writer, and the bias of the intended audience. Those multiply Cleopatras include:

The Sucide
The Lover
The Woman
The Queen
The Foreigner
The Killer
The Child

All of those Cleopatras are discussed and disected in this book

An intersting read, not quite what I was expecting, but that does not distract from my enjoyment of the book.

I think the real Cleopatra can be found in this book, you will just have to work at finding her. show less

Excellent book on cleopatra, not just the history but her impact on culture from Shakespear to Elizabeth Taylor

Interesting

Biography, Cultural, History