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A review by miss_merna
Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
4.0
I suppose many of us know Cleopatra's story. An Egyptian queen who seduced two Roman generals in order to keep Egypt an independent kingdom. Antony, the second Roman general, becomes so infatuated with Cleopatra that he starts to recklessly hand out Roman territory to her, such as Syria and Libya etc, and names Cleopatra's son as the true heir of Julius Caesar. All of this makes Octavian (Caesar's adopted son) displeased and furious at being challenged. He declares war on Cleopatra, but it's really Antony he wants defeated. Octavian wins and Antony and Cleopatra end up committing suicide. Octavian murders the son that Cleopatra had with Julius Caesar to eliminate all the rivals who threaten his throne to the Roman Empire. However, he does keep the children of Antony and Cleopatra alive and even sends them to be raised by his own sister.
Lily of the Nile follows the story of Selene, daughter of Antony and Cleopatra, as she attempts to fit into her new environment and make herself trustworthy among the Romans, especially Octavian, in the hopes that she will one day regain Egypt.
The story was very engrossing. However, the magic element added to the story was unnecessary. I thought the book would have been much more perfect if it wasn't for the fantasy aspect that was placed alongside historical fiction. I also thought Lily's strong hate for Octavian because he murdered those who opposed him, such as her parents, was hypocritical. I would think Selene would have known Antony and Cleopatra both followed the same murderous tactics as Octavian. The novel followed historical events pretty accurately while at the same time intervening fictional events together.
The book did have some kind of aspects that made it comparable to the HBO drama Rome. I remember learning about Cleopatra in my ancient history class. I remember reading that Octavian took her children and sent them to Rome, which left me curious about their life in Rome and their relationship to Octavian (the man responsible for the downfall of their parents). It seemed like it would make a very interesting story, so I searched on the internet for fictional stories related to Cleopatra's children and was glad I found this. It met my expectations.
Lily of the Nile follows the story of Selene, daughter of Antony and Cleopatra, as she attempts to fit into her new environment and make herself trustworthy among the Romans, especially Octavian, in the hopes that she will one day regain Egypt.
The story was very engrossing. However, the magic element added to the story was unnecessary. I thought the book would have been much more perfect if it wasn't for the fantasy aspect that was placed alongside historical fiction. I also thought Lily's strong hate for Octavian because he murdered those who opposed him, such as her parents, was hypocritical. I would think Selene would have known Antony and Cleopatra both followed the same murderous tactics as Octavian. The novel followed historical events pretty accurately while at the same time intervening fictional events together.
The book did have some kind of aspects that made it comparable to the HBO drama Rome. I remember learning about Cleopatra in my ancient history class. I remember reading that Octavian took her children and sent them to Rome, which left me curious about their life in Rome and their relationship to Octavian (the man responsible for the downfall of their parents). It seemed like it would make a very interesting story, so I searched on the internet for fictional stories related to Cleopatra's children and was glad I found this. It met my expectations.