Date: 18 January 2010
This was a great read:- enthralling and captivating until the end. The story opens with the death of Cleopatra and is told by her daughter, Selene who had a twin brother, Alexander, and a younger brother, Ptolemy. Upon their mother’s death, Octavian sends all the children to Rome, where they are brought up by his sister, Octavia. Sadly, Ptolemy falls ill and dies on the voyage. Living in fear of death, Selene studies hard to be an architect, desperately longing to be sent back to Egypt to work. The characters are vividly portrayed as is daily life in ancient Rome, with its customs, politics and dangers. Fans of ancient history will enjoy this book as well as ‘The Heretic Queen’, by the same author.
PO