Antony & Cleopatra

By: Adrian Goldsworthy

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

In this remarkable dual biography of the two great lovers of the ancient world, Adrian Goldsworthy goes beyond myth and romance to create a nuanced and historically acute portrayal of his subjects, set against the political backdrop of their time. A history of lives lived intensely at a time when the world was changing profoundly, this audiobook takes listeners on a journey that crosses cultures and boundaries, from ancient Greece and ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire.

Drawing on his prodigious knowledge of the ancient world and his keen sense of the period's military and political history, Goldsworthy creates a singular portrait of the iconic lovers. "Antony and Cleopatra were first and foremost political animals," explains Goldsworthy, who places politics and ideology at the heart of their storied romance.

Undertaking a close analysis of ancient sources and archaeological evidence, Goldsworthy bridges the gaps of current scholarship and dispels misconceptions that have entered the popular consciousness. He explains why Cleopatra was consistently portrayed by Hollywood as an Egyptian, even though she was really Greek, and argues that Antony had far less military experience than anyone would suspect from reading Shakespeare and other literature. In addition Goldsworthy makes an important case for understanding Antony as a powerful Roman senator and political force in his own right.

©2010 Adrian Goldsworthy (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Unlike many competing authors, Goldsworthy never disguises the scanty evidence for many historical events." ( Publishers Weekly)

Well informed, accurate information! Another great Goldsworthy book!

Adrian manages to maintain his signature command over narrative and had me itching to get back to Audible in my free time to hear all the details of both Antony and Cleopatra’s final years. Highly recommended if you have even a cursory knowledge of the first/second Triumvirates!

Great narrative history.

Gave me a more balanced understanding of Antony and Cleopatra. It is well written, and the narrator is excellent. Well worth listening to, it helped me gain a much better understanding of the era.

Inbetween falls the shadow...

If you could sum up Antony & Cleopatra in three words, what would they be?

If I could sum up Antony and Cleopatra in three words those three words would be: 1) Antony; 2) and; and 3) Cleopatra.

Everyone recognizes the names - especially when you put them together. This is a book about them. What other words could I need?

What other book might you compare Antony & Cleopatra to and why?

This is a terrible question.

I would probably compare it to other books by Adrian Goldsworthy.

wonderfull history

loved it. top popular history by a top historian. great for anyone interested in Cleopatra.

Very good

While I throughly enjoyed Antony and Cleopatra, I was disappointed in how little is actually known and so a book entitled about these two lovers ends up being more about Roman history ( no fault of the author since the solid proven facts are just not there ) with some hours devoted to A and C, basically telling us that
" little is known " !! But, it still was a very interesting listening experience and I just love Steven Crossley reading anything!!!

Excellent Book!!

I very much enjoyed this book. It was well-written and well-presented. It laid out a thorough history of Roman politics and Ptolemian dynasty before combing over the lives of the two famous lovers and the major political players of their times. Fascinating story! I’m thrilled to have heard the real historical events rather than what media and stories have fluffed up over the years and centuries. Definitely would recommend this book!!

A balanced and well executed biography.

There's a reason why Adrian Goldsworthy is one of the big historical writers of our time. This was a wonderfully balanced dual-account of two extraordinary individuals. He highlights the strengths and weakness of both characters and the actual history is more riveting than many fictional retellings.

Superb Book!

Hands-down one of the best history books I have "read" on the era. Adrian Goldsworthy provides a fresh, no-nonesense account of one of the most famous and captivating times in history.

Great detail- learned a lot!

The first 1/3 of the book is really dry, laying the background on Roman politics and family histories... hard to follow at times. But the reasoning for the detail makes sense once the main 7-8 characters come to the fore... it helps make the cause/effect of political and warring decisions make a lot of sense in context. It’s a great read overall- my best measuring stick of this is that I now have about 6 other related topics to go learn about (Augustus, Battle of Philippi, Actium, and of course, Julius Caesar). Fortunately, this author has several books on these, of which I’m sure I will buy a few.

An Unbiased Historical Account Rich in Detail

I am an armchair Egyptologist and enthusiast. One of my favorite books on the subject is Margaret George's Memoirs of Cleopatra, and while I consider that book a masterpiece, I embarked on this listen with intent to learn a bit more. Let me preface this by freely admitting that Rome is my least favorite ancient and classical period civilization. By my reckoning they were the nails in the coffin of multiple cultures and have left a legacy of empire and colonialism in spite of their contributions to infrastructure and senses of discipline and general stoicism.

This is an unbiased, largely clinical, fact based view of Antony and Cleopatra. I never held much regard for the Ptolemaic dynasty either, but that is not important in all this. This audiobook is full of information and well-reasoned conclusion and anyone who is caught up in the romanticism of the subject is liable to feel a sting of truth, which is under no obligation to appeal to us, but merely is or is not true.

The truth, whether we find it palatable or not, is what should be pursued with passion and zeal, and takes precedence over fanciful notions. It needs to be embraced and accepted lest we cheapen our own academic endeavors whether for scholastic or personal enrichment.

This book is marvelously instructive and well prepared and narrated. It is worthy of the five stars I have given it in spite of the acute consternation I have felt having my own illusions and presuppositions removed. It is a test of character of the individual to modify their view or opinions when given information that contradicts their prior assertions. Not to make this about me, but I am more educated about this last period than I was before I listened to this, and for that I tip my hat to the author.