Cleopatra: Histories, Dreams and Distortions
‘Brilliant’ Antonia Fraser, Sunday Times
‘This shimmering study … brilliant and wily’ Marina Warner, Observer
Winner of the FAWCETT PRIZE and EMILY TOTH AWARD
In the 2000 years since her death Cleopatra has been re-created over and over again by poets, artists and filmmakers, each time in a form that fits the prejudices and yearnings of the age that produced it. To Chaucer she was the model of a good wife, while to Cecil B.De Mille she was ‘the wickedest woman in history’.
This book is about the real Cleopatra, the most powerful woman in her world, but also about the legion of imaginary Cleopatras and about the sexual, racial and political messages they carry.
'This is a gripping book … A fascinating account of the way in which succeeding generations have seen Cleopatra; as virtuous suicide, inefficient housewife, exuberant lover, professional courtesan, scheming manipulator, femme fatale, incarnation of Isis and bimbo' Economist -
'In Lucy Hughes-Hallett's exemplary reappraisal [she] brings a trenchant intelligence to bear on the subject … and throws a searching light on two thousand years of male erotic fantasy' Joan Smith, New Statesman -
'Richly entertaining and thought-provoking … a fascinating and humorous work … Every Antony should read it' TLS -