so-soThe Fall of Egypt and the Rise of Rome, by Guy de la Bedoyere (2024)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Premise: A history of the Ptolomaic Empire, from its beginnings in the aftermath of Alexander the Great‘s death to its end under the famed queen Cleopatra
Review: There‘s a lot of excellent content here and I was excited for a volume focusing on one of the great Hellenistic kingdoms. ⬇️
Part 1 of kiddo‘s haul: the tagged has been borrowed from the library at least a dozen times, the bottom two finish the series, the Daughter books is her cousin‘s absolute favorite series (she carries them around and calls them her children) and a birthday present for my kiddo, and the Calin just because (and author‘s first name is kiddo‘s first name so if that‘s ever a bingo square again she‘s set).
pickApparently reading for four hours in total on Thursday wasn't enough for me, despite being 4x as much as I usually manage, so I read for another hour before bed to finish this. I liked it a lot, though as ever I'd have liked it more with numbered citations and I wish the nature of evidence for his assertions had been discussed, e.g. *why* does he assert that "Chickpea" and Cleopatra IV were a love match? On what evidence?!
pickI found this book about the six women rulers of Egypt very interesting, although at some times it felt a little tilted rather than neutral fact.
It, of course, covered the more well-known women like Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, and Cleopatra, but I really enjoyed learning about the lesser known women rulers: Merneith, Neferusobek, and Tawisret.
panHaving read a biography of Cleopatra VII and watched documentaries and movies, this fictional diary was definitely a let-down. Can‘t tell if it‘s disappointing because I‘m an adult or because I know so much about her life. It was mostly being stuck in Rome waiting for a Roman army to come back with her and her father to Alexandria to quell the peasant and sibling rebellions. The ending part with all the facts was more interesting.
pick#BookedinTime
I enjoyed this audio book imagining what happened to the children of Marc Antony and Cleopatra after their deaths. I did find my mind wondering a bit as I listened and it‘s the beginning of a trilogy that I‘m not sure I will continue. 3.5 🌟
@Cuilin @dabbe
Looking forward to the tagged book about the daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Antony. The first in a trilogy.
#BookedinTime @Cuilin @dabbe
#BookedInTime #TimeOfThePharaohs
Thanks to @Mollyanna for suggestion.
All are welcome, choose your own novel, review and tag @Cuilin and @dabbe
Bookish Pair: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, by Toby Wilkinson (2010) 2d