Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran
First of all, I’m not a huge fan of Roman history (though I loved McCullough’s Masters of Rome series), especially that of the Empire. However, since I’ve loved Moran’s other two books, I was willing to give this one a try. It was actually pretty good and had me in tears on a few occasions.
Second, lemme just give a big “duh!” to the identity of the Red Eagle.
A few things irritated me with this book, though:
- No one would have been surprised that a Ptolemy would have prefered members of their own sex, least of all another Ptolemy. The Hellenic world was filled with homosexual rulers. Look at Cleopatra’s father, at least one of her uncles, and both of her brothers.
- What was all that crap about women in Egypt being allowed to marry for love? Alexander Helios was already betrothed to someone at the time the novel starts. The fact that Selene was not probably means that she was intended to marry Caesarion.
- Caesar women seem to have been the exception to Roman women remarrying rule. Look at the Dictator’s mother, Aurelia, and his aunt, Julia. Neither one of them remarried. And how about Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi?
Interestingly, I’ve never read anything good about Livia Drusilla. She seems to have been universally hated by everyone except Augustus. Though, come to think of it, it’s rare to read anything nice about any Roman Empress. They all appear to have been vindictive, homicidal, vipers married to insane megalomaniacs. 
Sorry, I digress . . .
I’ve found Cleopatra’s Daughter to be a fascinating read.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
