I Am Cleopatra - by Natasha Solomons (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the internationally bestselling author of Fair Rosaline comes a captivating historical novel--a powerful retelling of the life of one of the most beguiling and misrepresented female figures in history, Cleopatra.

The favored daughter of the Pharaoh, Egyptian Princess Cleopatra spent her childhood hiding amid the scrolls in the great library of Alexandria, dreaming of one day writing her own story.

When her father dies, naming both Cleopatra and her selfish brother Ptolemy as his successors to the throne, danger arises. While the young Queen sails the Nile to greet her people, her brother plots to eliminate her and rule the empire alone.

But while Ptolemy has the power of the kingdom behind him, Cleopatra has her cunning wits. When the great Caesar arrives from Rome, she realizes he could be the key to her salvation--though courting this powerful man could cost her everything.

Can Cleopatra save her life, her throne, and her beloved Egypt and finally write her own history?

Told from the dueling perspectives of Cleopatra and Caesar's mistress Servilia, I Am Cleopatra is a powerful, addictively readable reimagining of the alluring queen's life. A modern retelling that goes beyond previous caricatures, I Am Cleopatra is a fascinating portrait of the flesh-and blood-woman behind the great legend. Natasha Solomons' spellbinding story of female power and fragility, love and loss, fierce friendship and terrible betrayal introduces at last the real Cleopatra in all her glory and vulnerability.

Review Quotes

"Irresistible. An excellent spin on a timeless classic." -- Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne on Fair Rosaline

"A brilliant, feminist re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet, Fair Rosaline is a gorgeously written version of Verona from Juliet's cousin, Rosaline's, point of view. What does Romeo truly look like through the eyes of a woman on the periphery of the original story? Natasha Solomons skillfully shows us another version of the star-crossed lovers--and the Romeo--we all think we know. I absolutely devoured this thought-provoking, female-centric take on Shakespeare." -- Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools on Fair Rosaline

"Challenges classic interpretations of Romeo and Juliet . . . . entertaining and empowering." -- Publishers Weekly on Fair Rosaline

"Exquisitely written, wonderfully lyrical and richly immersive--this a story we all know made fresh and chillingly relevant, refracted through a feminist lens." -- Ellery Lloyd, New York Times bestselling author of The Club on Fair Rosaline