ABOUT THE BOOK: CLEOPATRA: A LIFE BY STACY SHIFF Her palace shimmered with gold but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Cleopatra, the wealthiest ruler of her time and one of the most powerful women in history, was a canny political strategist, a brilliant manager, a tough negotiator, and the most manipulative of lovers. Although her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. At only 18 years old, Cleopatra was already one of history's most remarkable figures: the Queen of Egypt. A lethal political struggle with her brother marked her early adulthood and set the tone for the rest of her life; a relationship with Julius Caesar, forged while under siege in her palace, launched her into a deadly mix of romance and strategy; a pleasure cruise down the Nile followed, a child, and a trip to Rome, which ended in Cleopatra's flight. After Caesar's brutal murder, she began a nine-year affair with Mark Antony, with whom she had three more children. Antony and Cleopatra's alliance and attempt to forge a new empire spelled both their ends. The subject of gossip and legend, veneration and speculation in her lifetime, Cleopatra fascinated the world right up to her death. In the 2000 years since, myths about the last Queen of Egypt have been fuelled by Shakespeare, Dryden, and Shaw, who put words in her mouth, and by Michelangelo, Delacroix, and Elizabeth Taylor, who put a face to her name. In Cleopatra, Pulitzer prize-winning biographer Stacy Schiff accomplishes a feat that has eluded artists and writers for centuries: capturing fully the operatic life of an exceptionally seductive and powerful woman, whose death ushered in a new world order. (From the publisher.) ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF: CLEOPATRA: A LIFE • Birth—October 26, 1961 • Where—Adams, Massachusetts, USA • Education—B.A., Williams College • Awards—Pulitzer Prize in Biography; Academy Award, American Academy of Arts & Letters; 3 fellowships: Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, NY Public Library Center for Scholars & Writers • Currently—lives in New York City, New York Stacy Madeleine Schiff is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American non-fiction author and guest columnist for the New York Times. Schiff is a graduate of Phillips Academy preparatory school, and earned her B.A. degree from Williams College in 1982. She was a Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster until 1990. Her essays and articles have appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times Book Review and the Times Literary Supplement. Schiff has received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Schiff won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for her biography of Vera Nabokov, wife of Vladimir Nabokov and muse of Lolita. She was also a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Saint-Exupery: A Biography about Antoine de Saint Exupery. Schiff's A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America won the 2006 Arwen Taylor Book Prize, the Ambassador Award in American Studies, and the Institut Francais’s Gilbert Chinard Prize. Schiff was a Director’s Fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She was awarded a 2006 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. (From Wikipedia.) DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR: CLEOPATRA: A LIFE BY STACY SCHIFF 1. Stacy Schiff writes, “It is not difficult to understand why Caesar became history, Cleopatra a legend” (page 5). What are the differences between the two? How are these differences related to gender? 2. Discuss the role of subjectivity in historical records. How does Schiff factor that subjectivity into her account? Do you think it’s possible to document events that are close to us in time? Or do chroniclers’ subjectivities necessarily bias their accounts? 3. How do you think Cleopatra felt as she travelled to meet Caesar for the first time? What are the differences between that meeting and her first encounter with Mark Antony? How did the circumstances of the initial encounters set the tone for the relationships? 4. Despite her political ambition, Cleopatra has been painted as a seductress and siren rather than as a powerful and adept ruler. Do you think it’s still the case that men are said to strategize where women manipulate? 5. Discuss women’s roles and rights in ancient Egyptian and Roman society. Did they surprise you? Why or why not? Women in Egypt enjoyed an equality close to what they enjoy today; it was then lost for some two thousand years. Could that happen again? 6. Although Cleopatra came from a long line of strong female rulers, do you think she felt out of place on a political stage dominated by men? Is there any indication that she doubted her abilities? Can you imagine her in a Roman military camp, for example? 7. Cleopatra lived in an era of rampant murder, covert political alliances, and fierce betrayal. Has human nature changed in two thousand years? In what ways is it different and in what ways is it the same? 8. Do you think that Cleopatra loved Caesar and Mark Antony, or were their relationships purely for political leverage? What makes you think so? 9. What do you think of Cleopatra as a woman, mother, lover, partner, and ruler? Was she admirable or detestable? Why or why not? 10. Can you retell Cleopatra’s story as one of her subjects might have written it? How does it diverge from the Roman account? 11. Why has Cleopatra’s story captivated artists and audiences for over two thousand years? Why does she interest you? 12. Are there any modern women who you would compare to Cleopatra? Who? What characteristics do they share with her? Discuss how these women are depicted in histories or in the media today. (Questions issued by publisher.) SUGGESTED READING FOR: CLEOPATRA: A LIFE BY STACY SCHIFF Title: The October Horse Author: Colleen McCullough Summary: A novel of the final days of the Roman Republic explores the love affair between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, the assassination of Caesar, and the struggle for power that leads to the rise of the Roman Empire. Title: Marie Antoinette: The Journey Author: Antonia Fraser Summary: Describes the life of Marie Antoinette from her betrothal as a fourteen-year-old girl to the future King Louis XVI, through her life in the French court, to her courage in the face of revolutionaries who sent her the guillotine. Title: Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne Author: David Starkey Summary: Chronicles the young queen’s unlikely rise to power as the younger daughter of one of Henry VIII’s many wives who was once imprisoned and nearly killed by her own half-sister. Title: Cleopatra and Antony: Power, Love and Politics in the Ancient World Author: Diana Preston Summary: Evaluates the relationship between the two leaders of the ancient world against the backdrop of their time, exploring the facts and mythology surrounding their individual lives and famous love affair as they influenced the rise of the Roman Empire. Title: Theodora Author: Paolo Cesaretti Summary: An in-depth portrait of the Byzantine Empress Theodora profiles one of the most important female figures in Western history, who was born the daughter of a bear-keeper and rose to become the wife and partner of the Emperor Justinian, leading a fascinating life depicted here in meticulously researched detail. Title: Four Queens: the Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe Author: Nancy Bazelon Goldstone Summary: Traces the lives of the four daughters of the Count of Provence who eventually became the queens of France, England, Germany, and Sicily. INVENTORY SHEET BOOK TITLE: CLEOPATRA: A LIFE BOOKS: 15 ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 1 ABOUT THE BOOK: 1 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1 RECOMMENDED READING: 1