Queen Cleopatra

What It's About

Alexandria, in the final turbulent years of the Roman Republic. The young Cleopatra is hemmed in by a scheming court, a brother-husband, and a rival sister, and she knows that Rome's ambitions will decide Egypt's fate. Her one hope is to win over Tros of Samothrace, a formidable Greek sea captain who owes loyalty to no throne and has no love for Rome. The story is narrated through the diary of Olympus, Cleopatra's physician, so we see palace intrigue, naval manoeuvring and the rise of Julius Caesar from a trusted insider's point of view.

Key Concepts

Mundy sets a queen's survival instincts against Rome's expanding power, and asks what freedom and loyalty cost a ruler. Destiny runs through the book, as do the mystery religions of the ancient world, with a spiritual outlook that reflects Mundy's own interests. The history is free-handed: Mundy builds a vivid, idealised Cleopatra and places his fictional hero at the centre of famous events, so it reads better as romantic adventure than as a strict account of the period.

About the Author

Talbot Mundy was the pen name of William Lancaster Gribbon, an English-born writer who spent his early adult life travelling through India and Africa before settling in the United States, where he became a citizen. He made his name writing adventure fiction for the American pulp magazines, and he was known for exotic settings and an interest in Eastern mysticism and Theosophy.