Cleopatra: A Life

In depicting the life of Cleopatra, the final Egyptian queen, Schiff proposes the re-evaluation of a figure who has been obscured and maligned in the centuries since her death. Schiff examines the primary historical sources, drawing out their prejudices and political motivations, while providing a wider context for their choices. She creates a portrait not of an infamous seductress and schemer, but of a capable and driven sovereign who led her kingdom through its last flourishing age.

Cleopatra’s relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony are explored in depth, and Schiff describes the settings of Alexandria and Rome in sumptuous detail, but she also brings focus to Cleopatra’s formative education, her role as a mother, her participation as a primary figure of Egyptian religious belief, and her many successful economic and social reforms. What emerges is a portrait of a powerful woman, shorn of the patriarchal misrepresentations and slander that have routinely haunted the story of her life.

Schiff’s historical approach is very much formed by the scarcity of direct sources regarding Cleopatra and her reign. The Egyptian historical sources from Cleopatra’s era are scanty, and the closest contemporary sources were Roman historians who were working at Octavian’s behest.