I need to nail my colours here, I am a huge fan of Cleopatra, and have a rather rosy and romantic image of her. To me the ideal potrait was in Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George. I do not really approve of the demonising that is currentlyoccuring around this most inspirational female figure from history. That said, it is always difficult to write about such famous characters in history especially when you know the ending.........howver, I thought this book was brilliant! For me it was more about Octavian and one really felt one got inside his head, for anyone who has read Robert Graves or seen the excellent BBC series we can really see where Octavian is going to go, how his character may have been formed. I loved her portrayal of Antony too, it really rang true. I cannot find Livia a sympathetic character as portrayed by Colleen but then so much prejudice has gone before ( a bit like me and Cleopatra!) that maybe it is good to see another side to her character. If like me you love historical fiction and Rome and Egypt in particular this book is for you.
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