Cleopatra - by Joyce Tyldesley (Paperback)

About the Book

Cleopatra is often portrayed as a woman ruled by emotion rather than reason. Tales of seduction, intrigue, and suicide have obfuscated Cleopatra's true political genius. Stripping away these misconceptions, Egyptologist Tyldesley offers a magnificent biography of a most extraordinary queen.

Book Synopsis

The Romans regarded her as "fatale monstrum" -- a fatal omen. Pascal said the shape of her nose changed the history of the world. Shakespeare portrayed her as an icon of tragic love. But who was Cleopatra, really?

We almost feel that we know Cleopatra, but our distorted image of a self-destructive beauty does no justice to Cleopatra's true genius. In Cleopatra, Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley offers an unexpectedly vivid portrait of a skillful Egyptian ruler. Stripping away our preconceptions, many of them as old as Egypt's Roman conquerors, Cleopatra is a magnificent biography of a most extraordinary queen.

Review Quotes

"Times Higher Education Supplement"
"A very readable account of the life of Cleopatra VII, and one that goes some way to redress the way in which she is often viewed. It also provides intriguing insights into life and society in the Egypt of the Ptolemies and the position of Egypt in the world-system of its time."


"Tucson Citizen"
"This is a multilayered biography of one of the most interesting historical figures ever. Tyldesley presents the great queen in such a way that she almost leaps from the printed page."

"Los Angeles Daily News"
"Fascinating and irresistible."

"Sunday Telegraph"
"Tyldesley's strength has always been her storytelling, and here she is on top form. The Ptolemaic court was an in-bred and volatile place where assassination of family rivals was commonplace, and she brings out well the effect of the entry of Rome into this bewildering madhouse.... Tyldesley takes this terrific story on in fine style...a gripping narrative."

"The Mail on Sunday"
"One of the many merits of this sympathetic biography is that [Tyldesley] is able to place Cleopatra securely in Egyptian culture and history."

About the Author

Dr. Joyce Tyldesley holds a first class honors degree in archaeology from Liverpool University, and a doctorate from Oxford University. She is currently a lecturer in Egyptology at the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology, Fellow of the Manchester Museum and Honorary Research Fellow at Liverpool University. She has acted as consultant on several television projects and has excavated extensively in Egypt and Europe. Her previous books include a sequence of popular biographies of Egyptian pharaohs, with particular emphasis on the lives of prominent Egyptian women. She lives in Bolton, England.