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Cleopatra
biography
560 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1971
2 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Jack Lindsay
171 books8 followersJack Lindsay was an Australian-born writer, who from 1926 lived in the United Kingdom.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 15, 2013
I found the book to be a fascinating and terrific read....in parts. Other parts not so much. The book would be more accurately titled Caesar, Antony, Egypt, Octavian and Cleopatra. Indeed, in much of the book the title subject, the Queen of the Nile herself, is just an ancillary subject. It's more a history of the time leading up to and the final crumbling of the famous Roman triumvirate that formed after Caesar's murder than a focused, revealing investigation of Cleopatra herself.
There are sections of the book that, while incredibly well researched and well intentioned contextual material, come across as filler. I found one entire chapter on the Sibylline Prophecies (in the sense that, at the time of the great drama between Antony and Octavian, they were basically twisted into propaganda either for or against how Cleopatra fit into the scheme of things) to be tedious in that the entire context of the chapter could have been summed up in a short paragraph amidst the more intriguing parts of history.
All in all I came away enriched from the experience, but also very wanting for more substance in regard to the subject of Cleopatra herself.
There are sections of the book that, while incredibly well researched and well intentioned contextual material, come across as filler. I found one entire chapter on the Sibylline Prophecies (in the sense that, at the time of the great drama between Antony and Octavian, they were basically twisted into propaganda either for or against how Cleopatra fit into the scheme of things) to be tedious in that the entire context of the chapter could have been summed up in a short paragraph amidst the more intriguing parts of history.
All in all I came away enriched from the experience, but also very wanting for more substance in regard to the subject of Cleopatra herself.
July 28, 2021
I think this book has stood the test of time remarkably well and should be seen as very much in keeping with modern trends towards reassesing the role of women in history.
It could be argued that Cleopatra was not Egyptian, but Greek, the last survivor of a dynasty descended from one of Alexander the Greats Generals. Jack Lindsay sets out to blow away the traditional image ofher as a sensous femme fatale, and instead presents a more realistic image of a pragmatic femal ruler who sought to find a balance between the ancient kingdom of Egypt and the emerging power of Rome. In order to do this she had to ally herself with various generals including Caesar and Mark Anthony.
I did find myself wondering, if those two famous men had not involved themselves with Cleopatra would their downfall have been avoided, however, that is conjecture whereas this book deals entirely in fact.
A great read.
It could be argued that Cleopatra was not Egyptian, but Greek, the last survivor of a dynasty descended from one of Alexander the Greats Generals. Jack Lindsay sets out to blow away the traditional image ofher as a sensous femme fatale, and instead presents a more realistic image of a pragmatic femal ruler who sought to find a balance between the ancient kingdom of Egypt and the emerging power of Rome. In order to do this she had to ally herself with various generals including Caesar and Mark Anthony.
I did find myself wondering, if those two famous men had not involved themselves with Cleopatra would their downfall have been avoided, however, that is conjecture whereas this book deals entirely in fact.
A great read.
November 18, 2015
More abour Rome than the lady herself. Yet still a fascinating read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews