I had read that this was a good book, and I enjoyed Stacy Schiff's book on the Salem Witch Trials, so I picked it up at a library book sale.
Reading this book, I realized how little I knew about Cleopatra; so much of her story is myth. For example, Schiff says it's very unlikely Cleopatra killed herself with asp or Egyptian cobra. She calls "Cleopatra's asp the cherry trees of ancient history..."
Schiff also discusses why Cleopatra's power was said to have derived from her sexuality. "It has always been preferable to attribute a woman's success to her beauty rather than her brains..."
It was a change to read about Cleopatra's accomplishments.
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