![]() The details of Anthony and Cleopatra’s life together are much more fascinating and exciting than the “maybes” and “probablys” of the first half of the book. No wonder many people, and unfortunately historians, think of William Shakespeare is a primary source – according to Ms. For me that was very frustrating and tedious as the book is very detailed in every aspect of the Alexandrian life – but not so much on Cleopatra’s early life. ![]() Schiff does her best, unfortunately the first 150 pages (or so) are filled with “maybe”, “we can guess…” and “probably”. Lack of primary sources is certainly a huge obstacle to overcome in a serious history book and Ms. ![]() Other then Cleopatra’s profile on coins, we don’t even have a picture of the queen. Even Julius Caesar barely mentions Cleopatra in his writing. ![]() Schiff based her research, amazing and detailed as it is, on mostly three secondary sources, Appian, Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus and Plutarch – all Roman, were not of the same generation and contradict one another. It was disappointing to learn that there are very few primary sources and that Ms. It is a travesty of history that we know so little of the last Pharaoh of Egypt, who also happened to be one of the wealthiest women of all times (and certainly the wealthiest person on earth during her reign). There are simply very little primary sources about this fascinating woman, much of it has been lost and the rest has been written by her enemies. Schiff tells us right off the bat to hedge our bets and forget what we know. ![]()
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