Happy Reading

Toni's bookshelf: read

The Godfather of Kathmandu (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, #4)
Ape House
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Operation Napoleon
Walking Dead
The Sentimentalists
The Heretic Queen
The Midnight House
Cross Fire
Peony in Love
Absurdistan
Nefertiti
Finding Nouf: A Novel
City of Veils: A Novel
First Daughter
A Place of Hiding
Amagansett
Peter Pan


Toni Osborne's favorite books »
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Friday, November 4, 2011

"Cleopatra's Daughter", by Michelle Moran

“Cleopatra’s Daughter” is a fascinating snap shot into Imperial Rome, its people and the events of this glorious and most tumultuous period in human history. Although a fiction the story has many true elements to it, it depicts a life of more than two thousand years ago when the children of Mark Antony and Cleopatra were taken from Egypt and raised several years on the Palatine. 

Narrated by the young Selene, the story begins on the fateful day when Octavian marched into Alexandria and claimed it as his own. Following the deaths of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, Selene along with her two brothers Alexander and Ptolemy are taken in chains to Rome to be delivered to the household of Octavian’s sister, Octavia. Unfortunately only the 10 year old twins, Selene and Alexander, with the support of each other, survive the journey. In Rome, at the hands of their captor Octavian, they are never far from danger or potential death. They quickly learn their survival depends on keeping vigilant and silent in the house of Caesar. 

Woven with bits of intricate detail, the novel not only tells the story of these remarkable children but also expounds on ancient Rome and the notorious and unforgettable people who lived during that period. The author tells the story in a very captivating and exciting manner and the characters have been finely tuned to enhance the atmosphere even further. 

There is no need for extensive knowledge of history to enjoy this wonderful tale of hardship and intrigue.

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