Historical Fictionistas discussion

i haven't read much historical fiction lately due to the fact i haven't came across anything that has captured my eye. so i decided to go with a famous queen i haven't read to much about other then the book about her in the royal diary series and the mention of her in cleopatras daughter by Michelle Moran. suggestions would be appreciated:)

The Memoirs Of Cleopatra by Margaret George is the best novel on the subject I've ever read.

The Memoirs of Cleopatra is amazing. Here are a few more ideas:
Cleopatra by Stacy Shiff
Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt by Joyce Tydesley
Antony & Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough

Happy reading :)

I loved The Memoirs of Cleopatra and liked McCullough's Antony & Cleopatra. I read Shiff's book for my book group: I found the book somewhat interesting but it was not enjoyed by most people in the group. Several people complained about Shiff's writing style.

Just wanted to ask y guys who've read memoirs of cleopatra by George...I read about 250 pages and found myself so totally bored with it. It seemed to take forever to get anywhere amongst her words. I have no problem with long books, but ended up returning it to the library...should I pick it up again? Does the story pick up? Did you have a problem like me? Thanks!

i was so excited to read it but alot of people say its rather dull till about halfway.......

Melodi wrote: "Just wanted to ask y guys who've read memoirs of cleopatra by George...I read about 250 pages and found myself so totally bored with it. It seemed to take forever to get anywhere amongst her words...."

George's books tend to start out slow and pick up halfway through. You should definitely stick with it.

~ Its YA. but I loved it

Any general Ancient Egypt recommendations?

Fiction or nonfiction?

Fiction please

Does it need to be set in ancient Egypt, or can it be about Egyptian antiquities?

If your answer is yes and you like humorous fiction, you can't do better than Elizabeth Peters (first in series: Crocodile on the Sandbank), which is set in the nineteenth century and involves a female archaeologist. The cast of archaeologists widens during the series, but all are set in Egypt and involve ancient Egyptian themes.

I liked the Margaret George book. I didn't like the McCullough - not sure why since I loved the rest of her Republic books. It felt to me like she didn't like Cleopatra or Marc Antony and couldn't write them with any interest besides reader request.

Other Egyptian books - River God by Wilbur Smith starts off a good series set in ancient Egypt.

I also recommend the Ramses series by Christian Jacq. 1st book is Ramses: The Son of Light

Second the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters - I love these.

I recently finished Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Stephanie Thornton and I would highly recommend it if you're interested in ancient Egypt. It's about the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, whose rule ushered in a Golden Age for Egypt.

Jessica wrote: "I recently finished Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Stephanie Thornton and I would highly recommend it if you're interested in ancient Egypt. It'..."

Oh, I very much want to read that.

Thanks everyone- I'm planning a trip to Egypt in May so wanted some reading before hand to get me in the mood. I'll look out for all of these, they sound great. I like the idea of the explorer / treasure hunter/ tourist in Egypt books as well as the ancient themed ones.

Has anyone read Cleopatra Daughter of the Nile by Colin Folconer? Is it good?

I absolutely adored Memoirs of Cleopatra so am sorry to hear it bored you. A less "wordy" but no less long book about her I really enjoyed was I, Cleopatra by William Bostock. It may be a bit harder to find. I suggest requesting it from the library. It's very, very good and full of detail.

I have to chime in with my love of the last two installments of Colleen McCullough's First Man in Rome series. McCullough paints Cleopatra in a very realistic way.

Stephanie Dray has a trilogy on Cleopatra's daughter Selene - it covers much more than the Michelle Moran and Vicky Alvear Shecter versions on Selene (much as I love those). Stephanie's trilogy covers her entire career as Queen of Mauretania, which is fascinating. Start with Lily of the Nile.

Michelle Moran's books Nefertiti and The Heretic Queen were both great reads!

Hi all, just back from a truly amazing two weeks in Egypt, during which I read Nefertiti by Michelle Moran, River God by Wilbur Smith and Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile.

Having relevant books really added to the experience so thanks everyone

This great witty play: Caesar and Cleopatra / George Bernard Shaw

I loved McCullough's portrayal of Cleopatra in The October Horse: A Novel of Caesar and Cleopatra.
It's the 6th book in the series about the fall of Rome, but I think it can be read as a stand-alone. I believe, she did a tremendous job of not falling into a usual cliche of the sticky-sweet love story between Caesar and Cleo ;-)