‘One of the many merits of this sympathetic biography is that Tyldesley is able to place Cleopatra securely in Egyptian culture and history.’ It is a story that will endure and be told many times, but in this biography one can see an Egyptian queen struggling against internal problems and external pressures and almost succeeding in securing her throne and her dynasty.’ ‘The story of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, and particularly its end, is complex and bloody and the author does an excellent job in presenting this fascinating tale in a clear and understandable way.

‘Writing with an easy mastery of her subject, Tyldesley always seems to be able to lay her hands on the perfect lively detail, whether an excerpt from an obscure bureaucratic document or a description of a kind of giant robot that paraded through the streets of Alexandria pouring libations of milk from a gold bottle … Tyldesley provides a memorable journey through the rich and contradictory sources of our knowledge about Cleopatra.’ ‘A lucid summary of the Queen of the Nile’s historical context and eternal allure … Tyldesley has established herself as perhaps the foremost popular writer on the rulers of Ancient Egypt and this very readable account of the life of Cleopatra VII, goes some way to redress the way in which she is often viewed.’

Cleopatra by Joyce A. Tyldesley