The Cleopatras

The Forgotten Queens of Egypt

By: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Narrated by: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

The definitive story of the seven Cleopatras, the powerful goddess-queens of ancient Egypt

One of history’s most iconic figures, Cleopatra is rightly remembered as a clever and charismatic ruler. But few today realize that she was the last in a long line of Egyptian queens who bore that name.

In The Cleopatras, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the dramatic story of these seven incomparable women, vividly recapturing the lost world of Hellenistic Egypt and tracing the kingdom’s final centuries before its fall to Rome. The Cleopatras were Greek-speaking descendants of Ptolemy, the general who conquered Egypt alongside Alexander the Great. They were closely related as mothers, daughters, sisters, half-sisters, and nieces. Each wielded absolute power, easily overshadowing their husbands or sons, and all proved to be shrewd and capable leaders. Styling themselves as goddess-queens, the Cleopatras ruled through the canny deployment of arcane rituals, opulent spectacles, and unparalleled wealth. They navigated political turmoil and court intrigues, led armies into battle and commanded fleets of ships, and ruthlessly dispatched their dynastic rivals.

The Cleopatras is a fascinating and richly textured biography of seven extraordinary women, restoring these queens to their deserved place among history’s greatest rulers.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (P)2024 Basic Books

Critic reviews

“An authoritative portrait of the tempestuous but impressive Cleopatra dynasty.”—Kirkus

“A thrilling biography, filled with the imperial ambitions and merciless intrigues of one of world history's most brutal families, the Ptolemy dynasty of Egypt. Llewellyn-Jones’s book places female power at the center through its seven Queen Cleopatras, culminating in the gripping story of the last of the Cleopatras and her alliances with Caesar and Antony. A real treat for those who relish epic histories of family power.”—Simon Sebag Montefiore, New York Times-bestselling author of The World

“Admirably readable, written with verve and a fine feeling for the ancient context of these seven queen Cleopatras and their modern afterlives. The first six are seldom studied, but here, what we can know of them is cleverly related to the seventh, the famous Cleopatra.”—Robin Lane Fox, author of Homer and His Iliad

Intriguing!!

This is a well researched and well written account of the seven Cleopatras and how they rose to power and maintain power.

Fascinating

Having received my undergrad in Ancient Greek civilization, I was massively undereducated in the information regarding the Ptolemies and Egypt in general. It's been fascinating to hear the lives of all these people and how they affected history. Even in college, my studies were so hyper-focused on Greece that knowledge on the Ptolemies were nil. The information given holds your interest throughout the entire book. I was at times horrified, titillated, intrigued, and amazed by the occurrences in this dynasty. I cannot recommend it enough.

Thorough on events, weak on analysis

If you're interested in a blow-by-blow history of the later and lesser Ptolemies, with some sidetreks into the Seleucids, this is a very thorough overview. It's not really what it claims to be though, there's no particularly clear focus on the Cleopatras and what it meant to be queen in this era, beyond a "people judge women in power more harshly," which yes is absolutely true but is rather superficial. I was hoping for more takeaway ideas, and mostly got chronology. Fair bit of unnecessary fat-shaming thrown about as well, as much as the author recognizes that the sources portray the Ptolemies in a sensationalist light he is more than happy to indulge in those titillitating details and assume he knows the inner minds of his subjects. Clearly knows his stuff (the "further reading" postscript is perhaps the most useful part of the book) but I think has tried a little too hard to write "for the masses" and overshot that target for anyone interested enough to pick up a book on this obscure a topic.