Things have been a bit busy around here, as Fulvia: The Woman Who Broke All the Rules in Ancient Rome was published in paperback at the beginning of April, and I have been working finishing off my next book, Fatal Monsters: Cleopatra, Her Sister Queens, and the Downfall of a Dynasty, which will be published in hardback (and also in e-book and audiobook format) in November.
Here is the blurb:
Today, Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt is the most famous woman of the ancient world. Yet she was not the only queen of her generation. She had an elder sister, Berenike, and a younger one, Arsinoe, both of whom also ruled Egypt.
The circumstances in which three sister queens each sought power for themselves were unprecedented. Women had not ruled Egypt since the time of the Pharaohs, 1,500 years earlier. But it was also anathema to the Romans, who had many vested interests in Egypt. As Republicans, the Romans despised monarchy – a monarchy controlled by women was beyond comprehension.
Acclaimed historian Jane Draycott tells the fascinating story of three powerful sisters, their rivalry and their efforts to stand up to the might of Rome.
This books serves as something of a prequel to my first trade history book, Cleopatra’s Daughter: Egyptian Princess, Roman Prisoner, African Queen, which examined the fascinating life of Cleopatra and Mark Antony’s only daughter, Cleopatra Selene (although if I were writing it now, having just finished Fatal Monsters, I would probably approach it a bit differently and try and highlight or draw out some different themes!), and the long shadow cast by her mother. I’ve always been more interested in the women around Cleopatra than the woman herself, and this book gave me a chance to examine her older sister Berenike and her younger one Arsinoe and give them their place in the spotlight for a change.
It is available to pre-order now from all the usual places, but since last week was Independent Bookshop Week, here is a link to Bookshop.org.
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