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Cleopatra Last Queen of Egypt Joyce Tyldesley 9780465009404 Books

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Cleopatra Last Queen of Egypt Joyce Tyldesley 9780465009404 Books

This is a very readable book about one of the most intriguing figures in world history. Joyce Tyldesley's biography of the last Queen of the Ptolemy dynasty covers all of the key points - the affair with Ceasar, the civil war in Egypt, and the final, fatal attraction with Marc Antony. Anyone reading this book is going to finish it with a good grasp of the basic outlines of Cleopatra's life and the dying days of the Ptolemy dynasty.

Unfortunately, Ms. Tyldesley has decided to write a book that is replete with digressions. She flies through Cleopatra's early life, but then takes two chapters discussing the layout of Alexandria and how Cleopatra actually looked between the birth of Ceasarian and the death of Caesar. There was a point where I despaired of finishing the discussion of diadems and triple uraei and getting back to the compelling story of the ultimate Roman conquest of Egypt.

This book is complimentary towards Cleopatra, but is not a hagiography. Ms. Tyldesley clearly is sympathetic towards her subject, but is clear that Cleopatra was, first and foremost, an ambitious leader in a cruel age. Her affairs with Caesar and Antony are presented as events that served mutual political agendas, and not (as they so often appear in cinema) as the product of lust. Since there is no way to ever know the true nature of the relationships, Ms. Tyldesley's theory is as valid as any other, but those looking for the romance of the age will be disappointed.

The flaws of the book are, at the end of the day, relatively minor. The strengths - Ms. Tyldesley's prose, her setting of the entire episode into the proper historical context, and her willingness to look beyond the sordid Elizabeth Taylor version of history - are significant. This is likely not a book for academics or romantics, but if the general reader can work through the digressions they will find a book worth reading.


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Cleopatra Last Queen of Egypt Joyce Tyldesley 9780465009404 Books Reviews

Of the famous women in history, the one that's either at the top of the list or at least in the top five would be Cleopatra. Does she truly merit this fame, or is all image and little substance. The answer is probably somewhere in the middle.

Joyce Tyldesley's biography of the celebrated Queen of the Nile suffers from the same problem that most Cleopatra biographers face there is very little primary material about her life. Instead, we get descriptions of her from secondary sources, often decades or centuries after the fact, and, of course, these sources have their biases. It's like working with a jigsaw puzzle with some pieces missing and other pieces warped or broken you can put a picture together, but it won't be a complete one. And in a time filled with other Cleopatras (and Ptolemys), it is sometimes hard to even figure out if you're working on the right puzzle.

The basic facts of Cleopatra's life are pretty well-known. She was romantically (or at least sexually) involved with Julius Caesar and then Mark Antony. After Antony's death, she committed suicide, allegedly by having an asp bite her. She was able to use her associations with these men to consolidate her own power in Egypt, but her queenship was often threatened, both by internal threats and those of foreign powers, particularly Rome.

Cleopatra is one of the great romantic figures in history, which promotes the common belief that she was one of the most beautiful, a real-life Helen. Was she really beautiful, either by the standards of the day or by today's standards? As Tyldesley points out, politics probably had more to do with her liaisons than attraction. Another controversy is Cleopatra's race Tyldesley addresses this as well, though the true answer may never be known.

Cleopatra was no lightweight, but in terms of impact on history, she was a minor player who happened to be associated with major ones. Tyldesley does a good job constructing a picture of Cleopatra while also being honest about the shortcomings of getting a real accurate story. The book itself is brief (just over 200 pages), but even that is a bit of a stretch for Cleopatra's life many pages deal with general Egyptian history or mythology. But Tyldesley writes well, and if you want to learn more about Cleopatra, this book is a good resource.
This is a fair, thoroughgoing biography of Cleopatra. It considers several aspect of her life, including her relationships with Caesar, Antony and the Ptolemaic family, as well as her impact on Egyptian politics and religion. However, I'm sorry to say this is the worst in a series of excellent ancient Egyptian biographies. Where Tyldesley usually takes a careful look at existing archaeological sites and native texts, this biography is rendered (perhaps appropriately) through an analysis of Greek and Roman written sources. I'm disappointed, in any case, to see that this work is more of a typical biography and less of a Tyldesley biography. I miss her careful fact-finding attitude and detailed analysis of data. However, I wouldn't go so far to say that this work is less than satisfactory.
Wonderful insight into Cleopatra's challenges in ruling Egypt. Ms. Tyldesley puts everything in chronological and easy to understand order with how the family relations and current foreign policies affected Cleopatra's decisions to control her kingdom.
Met my requirements, well documented and written by an expert . I would recommend it to others who have a real interest in historical facts.
This was a gift to my granddaughter who loved it.
This is a very readable book about one of the most intriguing figures in world history. Joyce Tyldesley's biography of the last Queen of the Ptolemy dynasty covers all of the key points - the affair with Ceasar, the civil war in Egypt, and the final, fatal attraction with Marc Antony. Anyone reading this book is going to finish it with a good grasp of the basic outlines of Cleopatra's life and the dying days of the Ptolemy dynasty.

Unfortunately, Ms. Tyldesley has decided to write a book that is replete with digressions. She flies through Cleopatra's early life, but then takes two chapters discussing the layout of Alexandria and how Cleopatra actually looked between the birth of Ceasarian and the death of Caesar. There was a point where I despaired of finishing the discussion of diadems and triple uraei and getting back to the compelling story of the ultimate Roman conquest of Egypt.

This book is complimentary towards Cleopatra, but is not a hagiography. Ms. Tyldesley clearly is sympathetic towards her subject, but is clear that Cleopatra was, first and foremost, an ambitious leader in a cruel age. Her affairs with Caesar and Antony are presented as events that served mutual political agendas, and not (as they so often appear in cinema) as the product of lust. Since there is no way to ever know the true nature of the relationships, Ms. Tyldesley's theory is as valid as any other, but those looking for the romance of the age will be disappointed.

The flaws of the book are, at the end of the day, relatively minor. The strengths - Ms. Tyldesley's prose, her setting of the entire episode into the proper historical context, and her willingness to look beyond the sordid Elizabeth Taylor version of history - are significant. This is likely not a book for academics or romantics, but if the general reader can work through the digressions they will find a book worth reading.