*review copy*
Cleopatra Selene is the forgotten daughter of the infamous Cleopatra VII. She was an Egyptian princess who was proclaimed by Marc Antony as Queen of Cyrenaica and Libya. After the death of her mother, she reigned as Queen of Egypt with her brother, Alexander Helios, for two weeks before it was annexed by the Roman Empire. She then became a Roman prisoner and lived in Emperor Augustus’s household. She went on to marry King Juba II of Mauretania, and she ruled alongside her husband.
Cleopatra’s Daughter: Egyptian Princess, Roman Prisoner, African Queen takes a closer look at his forgotten Queen, and you can tell the book has been a labour of love. Although the information on Cleopatra Selene is rather limited, Jane Draycott does her best with the means she has. We learn about the places she must have known, her illustrious parents and siblings, to try and piece together the lost information. In the end, we are stuck wanting more but knowing we’ll probably never get it.
Cleopatra’s Daughter: Egyptian Princess, Roman Prisoner, African Queen by Jane Draycott is an excellent and well-researched book. I would highly recommend it.
Cleopatra’s Daughter: Egyptian Princess, Roman Prisoner, African Queen by Jane Draycott is available now in the US and the UK.
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