Cleopatra: The Egyptian Queen: The Entire Life Story

By: THE HISTORY HOUR

Narrated by: Lizzie Richards

Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, nominally survived as pharaoh by her son Caesarion. She was also a diplomat, naval commander, polyglot, and medical author. As a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder, Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great.

Inside you’ll learn about:

• Rome comes to Egypt
• Sibling rivalry
• Caesar and Cleopatra
• Assassination
• Antony and Cleopatra
• An Alexandrian idyll
• Dusk approaches
• And much more!

Julius Caesar maintained a private affair with Cleopatra that produced a son, Caesarion (Ptolemy XV). When Caesar was assassinated, Cleopatra attempted to have Caesarion named as his heir, but this fell instead to Caesar's grandnephew Octavian. In the Liberators' civil war Cleopatra sided with the Roman Second Triumvirate formed by Octavian, Mark Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. Cleopatra had an affair with Antony that would eventually produce three children: Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene II, and Ptolemy Philadelphus. Octavian's forces invaded Egypt and defeated those of Antony, leading to his suicide. When Cleopatra learned that Octavian planned to bring her to Rome for his triumphal procession, she committed suicide by poisoning, the popular belief being that she was bitten by an asp.

©2018 The History Hour (P)2018 The History Hour

Cleopatra Understood

I've listen a few books on Cleopatra and Rome during this period and found this book by far the best researched. Details about her life written in a manner that provides a real feeling for the complexity of her life. The richness of Egypt and the relationship between Cleopatra and her people and her contemporary statesman from around the Mediterranean are quite amazing. Buy it!

God awful narrator but good story.

How the narrator was chosen for the role, I'm not sure, but the story was interesting. I had a hard time finishing, even though the book was short, because the narrator sounded like she was reading to group of children who don't speak English. Whiny and robotic.

A lesson in making a subject interesting.

When you think how horribly dull most history books are, you are grateful for someone who actually puts life into the subject. This book does just that,

Just learning that Cleopatra was in Rome when Caesar was murdered and that she had to flee back to Egypt, was worth the price of the book.

The average history book is so dead it should be buried with honors. And history has always been my favorite subject. Nothing is more fascinating. But what a painful slog so many of them are. Why not bring the past to life?

This book was wonderful and made a bygone era pulse with interest and color.

Good overview, poor narration

This is a good, concise overview of Cleopatra's life. However, the narration is a little hard to swallow as the narrator's performance is somewhat robotic and annoying.

Very interesting

This was a very interesting biography of Cleopatra, who was quite a skilled strategist, obviously intelligent and incredibly adept as a political leader from a budget and policy perspective. It was refreshing to read a biography to combat the skewed film perspective of a beautiful but conniving woman who used her beauty to get what she wanted for Egypt. Definitely worth listening.