Today I finished Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff. Schiff takes the reader inside the life of one the most fascinating women in ancient history. Going from her birth to the height of her power to her downfall and eventual death in 30 BCE, Schiff proved a look into a women who for the most part to the records, remains a mystery.
As a historian, I truly truly appreciate the historical research that Schiff must have put into the book. The records, the Latin, the Greek, and other languages she must have to learn in order to do research is amazing. However,. as this book was called Cleopatra (though the traditional spelling is Kleopatra), I was expecting even more about her. I understand that the records about her are sparse. But this book should really be called Cleopatra's Men. This book had more about the men in Cleopatra's life. Yes I understand, that there is more in the history records about them but still. It was rather annoying. Schiff goes on a long diatribe about Herod and what he did to his family and it had absolutely nothing to do with Cleopatra.
The last part of the book, only does Schiff explain her purpose of the book and only then really does she make more of a case. It was rather late and frankly did not help in the over-all feel of the book being more about the men than the actual woman.
Rating: 2/5
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