Cleopatra

Rating:
Summary: She gets what she wants... but what does she want?
Review: Rider Haggard's Cleopatra tells the story of the legendary queen as shown through the eyes of Harmachis, an Egyptian physician and priest of Isis. It is written from the point of view of Harmacis at the end of his life. He is old and recounts his life story. Like so many others he was obsessed with the beautiful Cleopatra, and so he tells her story as much as his.

Unlike most admirers, Harmachis actually gets involved with Cleopatra. She pushes him to reveal secrets of Isis (including the location of hidden treasures of the pyramids) to further her political ends. Throughout the story, the reader is left wondering whether Cleopatra really does love Harmachis. Sometimes she seems only to use him and she does betray him every time. But one has to consider that Harmachis comes from low class parents, so actually ending up with him might not be an option for her. She seems to really love him and maybe she really is trying to arrange things for them. Her power over him is complete, possibly because she doesn't know what she wants.

The setting and story are lavish. After all, this is ancient Egypt, complete with hidden treasures of Isis. At the same time the story is about more timeless issues - love and betrayal and love vs religion. It has the right blend of action, emotion and awesome settings to keep me interested all the way through. And the ancient setting keeps Cleopatra from feeling dated, as do some of Haggard's other novels.

I highly recommend Cleopatra to anyone into 1890's stuff, Egyptian stuff or adventure novels. I have no idea why indypublish is charging almost 100 dollars for this book. It is in public domain now, so what's the deal? Anyway this seems to be where they used copies are and its definitely worth 10 dollars. I read it about 8 years ago and I still remember it clearly and go wow.