Cleopatra - by Saara El-Arifi (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Cleopatra tells her own story in this evocative and sensuous historical epic from the bestselling and award-winning author of Faebound and The Final Strife.

This stunning edition includes designed endpapers and a custom case stamp.

YOU KNOW MY NAME, BUT YOU DO NOT KNOW ME.

Your historians call me seductress, but I was ever in love's thrall.

Your playwrights speak of witchcraft, but my talents came from the gods themselves.

Your poets sing of my bloodlust, but I was always protecting my children.

How wilfully they refuse to concede that a woman could be powerful, strategic, and divinely blessed to rule.

Death will silence me no longer.

This is not the story of how I died. But how I lived.

Review Quotes

"Saara El-Arifi's lush world-building and lyrical prose invest Cleopatra with a humanity, dignity, power, and independence that burn brightly on every page. Her deep love and vast knowledge of her subject shine through, and we see Cleopatra's fascinating life portrayed on her own terms, as readers have never encountered her before."--Jennifer Saint, #1 internationally bestselling author of Ariadne

"Few historical figures have been as maligned, romanticised or exoticised as Cleopatra. With this unflinching take on her life and legacy, El-Arifi raises Cleopatra from the sands of time, greets her with profound compassion, and liberates her from the judgement of men, granting her dignity and humanity. An extraordinary achievement."--Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

"Cleopatra is a sensational work in historical writing: Cleopatra as she is meant to be told. Saara El-Arifi is true brilliance, and this book cements here even further as one of the most prolific and important writers of the moment."--Hannah Kaner, bestselling author of Godkiller

About the Author

Saara El-Arifi is an internationally bestselling and award winning author of fantasy and historical fiction. El-Arifi knew she was a storyteller from the moment she told her first lie. Over the years, she has perfected her tall tales into epic ones. She has lived in many countries, had many jobs, and owned many more cats. After a decade of working in marketing and communications, she returned to academia to complete a master's degree in African studies specialising in Cleopatra's myth and her impact on Black women. She currently resides in London as a full-time procrastinator.