Antony and Cleopatra (Masters of Rome #7)
<big><p align="center"> A sweeping epic of ancient Rome from the #1 bestselling author of The Thorn Birds
In this breathtaking follow-up to The October Horse, Colleen McCullough turns her attention to the legendary romance of Antony and Cleopatra, and in this timeless tale of love, politics, and power, proves once again that she is the best hi
...morePaperback, 576 pages
Published
December 2nd 2008
by Simon & Schuster (Paper)
(first published 2007)
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I have been waiting for this book since I finished McCullough's previous book from this august series (no pun intended)The October Horse. It has been years. So my expectations were high, but the actual experience was not.
Have I changed in my reading tastes or was this book labored? I slogged through endless lists of names and details that were sometimes only tangential to the plot. I suppose that is part of the author's gift, but the actual historical events were so exciting I wa...more
Have I changed in my reading tastes or was this book labored? I slogged through endless lists of names and details that were sometimes only tangential to the plot. I suppose that is part of the author's gift, but the actual historical events were so exciting I wa...more
This book took me a long time to get through! I thought it was good except that the author really bogs it all down by including way too many words that a typical modern reader won't grasp. I think she should have made some of the names a little less similar for less confusion as well as left out historical details that are actually NOT RELEVANT to the plot at all. Too many side notes about people who did something great, but had no involvement in the story except that a character passed the plac...more
Definitivamente um grande livro para quem gosta de romances históricos. A beleza de um livro destes é que faz de uma historia antiga uma nova história. Sabemos quase tudo de Cleópatra, a mais famosa rainha do Egipto, de Marco António, o grande derrotado da história de Roma e de Octaviano, perdão, César Augusto, o primeiro homem de Roma, o primeiro imperador de Roma.
O sétimo livro desta saga, desta vez com três protagonistas. Cleópatra, Marco António e Octaviano. A ligação entre os 3 é Júlio...more
O sétimo livro desta saga, desta vez com três protagonistas. Cleópatra, Marco António e Octaviano. A ligação entre os 3 é Júlio...more
This is actually a bit of a letdown from the previous six books. My understanding is that McCullough intended the series to end with The October Horse, and it shows. Although "Antony and Cleopatra" is sprawling with history and is quite entertaining, it does feel more obligatory and less passionate than its predecessors, which felt more like a single, massive tale.
Brief recap: The October Horse ends with Julius Caesar assassinated and many of the conspirators dead, includin...more
Brief recap: The October Horse ends with Julius Caesar assassinated and many of the conspirators dead, includin...more
The seventh book of the Masters of Rome series. Unfortunately, I skipped the three before this (just couldn't find them at my regular places!) but the book thankfully works stand alone too.
This book marks the transition of Rome from a republic to an empire with the principal character, despite the book title, being Octavian, heir to Caesar's name and fortune, over the other hopeful Mark Antony.
The book spans the period from 41-27 BC, beginning with the aftermath of the Battle of Philippi and th...more
This book marks the transition of Rome from a republic to an empire with the principal character, despite the book title, being Octavian, heir to Caesar's name and fortune, over the other hopeful Mark Antony.
The book spans the period from 41-27 BC, beginning with the aftermath of the Battle of Philippi and th...more
This was actually a pretty good book I almost never finished. The problem I had with it was that when she was describing the overview of what was going on at the time there were so many locations and people I could not keep track of what was going on and became a bit frustrated. I needed a map and a character log or something. She also tended to use words I have never heard of (they call them $100 words or something like that) but I was able to figure out what she was talking about. After about ...more
By itself it is a very good book, but because to is in the Masters of Rome series, it can only recive 4 stars. It would have been five stars, except the Mrs. McCullough did not put an explanation at the conclusion of the novel like she normally has in the rest of the series. It may seem trival but I thought it was very important to these books.
I've been a huge fan of Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series ever since she published The First Man In Rome way back in 1990, but by the time she got around to writing the sixth (and I assumed final) book, The October Horse, I felt that her storytelling skills were on the wane.
What a surprise and delight then to find this book which continues the wondeful soap opera of Roman history and has Colleen back at her yarn spinning best. Despite the title, this book is really about th...more
What a surprise and delight then to find this book which continues the wondeful soap opera of Roman history and has Colleen back at her yarn spinning best. Despite the title, this book is really about th...more
Although, this book does not quite measure up to the previous six, nevertheless, it is a well written, interesting, meticulously researched story.
Caesar's death, and the military defeat of his assassins, gives rise to another triumvirate. Lepidus goes to Africa, Antony rules the East, and Octavian controls the West, including the City of Rome. This arrangement temporarily prevents a civil war. Most of Rome seems to want a true heir to Caesar. Antony, angry that Caesar named Octavian...more
Caesar's death, and the military defeat of his assassins, gives rise to another triumvirate. Lepidus goes to Africa, Antony rules the East, and Octavian controls the West, including the City of Rome. This arrangement temporarily prevents a civil war. Most of Rome seems to want a true heir to Caesar. Antony, angry that Caesar named Octavian...more
Perhaps the first thing to say is that this book is stand alone - you do not have to have read all 6 books of the Masters of Rome series that went before. As always McCullough uses the real (and imagined) events of history to give her story a gripping structure. And she develops her characters in a way that you can fully believe in. The vanity of Anthony and the extraordinary will power of Cleopatra are fully believable, as is the tragedy that gradually unfolds. Equally gripping is understandi...more
Despite the title, this book focuses more on the development of Octavian, who was named Caesars heir and therefore has to stuggle to live up to Caesars rule - it took a little time to get into the story, but once I did I was fully engrossed. The book is split into different sections concerning the major characters, which made it more interesting moving through each of their experiences: Cleopatra, Caesarion, Mark Anthony, Octavian and his wife Livia Drusilla, and also his sister Octavia, who mar...more
Kate
rated it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Kate by:
My daughter Rachel
Shelves:
historical-fiction
What can I say - I love Colleen McCullough and have read all of her Rome series. She is a fantastic historian and the people and places come alive under her pen. Her portrayal of Octavius somewhat surprised me as he seemed a much more benevolent and concerned with the good of the people than I'd expected. I will have to do a bit of nonfiction research to check this out. If you like lengthy and detailed historical novels this one is a good one. Reading of the others in this series isn't a pre...more
Vorrei essere stata l’aspide che ha dato il mozzico a Cleopatra, ma mooolto prima!
Sì lo so che così è la Storia, ma quanto era insopportabile quella donna?.
Per la verità sono pochissimi i personaggi di questo romanzo che si salvano. Tanto per cominciare avrei voluto saltare a piè pari tutti i capitoli in cui compariva Marco Antonio, un bambino capriccioso che andava sempre da mamma Cleopatra a piagnucolare perché Ottaviano, di ben 11 anni più giovane di lui, gli rubava i giocattoli.
...more
Sì lo so che così è la Storia, ma quanto era insopportabile quella donna?.
Per la verità sono pochissimi i personaggi di questo romanzo che si salvano. Tanto per cominciare avrei voluto saltare a piè pari tutti i capitoli in cui compariva Marco Antonio, un bambino capriccioso che andava sempre da mamma Cleopatra a piagnucolare perché Ottaviano, di ben 11 anni più giovane di lui, gli rubava i giocattoli.
...more
An amazing, epic book. I started out hating Marc Antony and liking Octavian (his rival Triumvir in Rome, later calling himself 'Caesar Augustus') but by the time the story concluded ended up liking Antonious and hating Octavianus. Well maybe not in such black-and-white terms, because the books attention to character development makes the reader appreciate the motivations, the REASONS behind the characters' actions - and in this Colleen McCullough is a master.
As faulty as Marc Antony - a...more
As faulty as Marc Antony - a...more
I always fall deeply into McCullough's books. Her writing style is so accessible, that even when the story is mired in history, geography, latin, unfamiliar words, hard to remember names...I still live it as I read!
I love the story of A&C and have read many versions. The uber-romantic ones appealed to me when I was younger (of course), but now that I have "matured" McCullough's version seems so much more realistic. Antony was a boor. By all accounts he was handsome, charmin...more
I love the story of A&C and have read many versions. The uber-romantic ones appealed to me when I was younger (of course), but now that I have "matured" McCullough's version seems so much more realistic. Antony was a boor. By all accounts he was handsome, charmin...more
First let me say, I own all the books in this series and excluding "The October Horse" have read the first five several times. And enjoyed them all immensely. I am sure this might be a good book if it might be a stand alone. But unfortunately, it is the last book in a series which, over the course of several books, developed characters I cared deeply. We grow up with Caesar, and with Sulla, Marius, Servillia, Marcus Brutus, Aurelia; We get to know them, even though we first meet th...more
Colleen McCullough has done it again, though her skill is exposed as one more fit to history and intrigue than to passionate romance. This book captivated me as any book that describes the years of Augustus' supremacy will always captivate me. Her depiction of Augustus and Livia (two cold fish in a pond) was both fun and fascinating. As always, McCullough's strength lies in getting into the minds, not the hearts, of her characters. She is at her best when exploring the political twists and turn...more
The seventh book in the Founders of Rome series is as juicily entertaining as ever, although (much like the second season of HBO's "Rome") it occasionally feels like McCullough's writing on fast-forward, covering major events in a few gossipy but abrupt paragraphs. This has the advantage of packing events in and moving the narrative along nicely, and the disadvantage of depriving the characters of what could have been a much greater degree of complexity. No doubt part of the problem ...more
Holly Weiss
is currently reading it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ancient-world,
historical-fictionistas
7th book of the "Masters of Rome" series. McCullough intended to end the series with The October Horse. Despite the title, Cleopatra is less important than the political struggle between Octavian, who claims the east (Rome) and Antony, who rules the east.
By aligning herself with Mark Antony, Cleopatra hoped to keep Octavian (Julius Caesar's heir and Rome's probable next ruler) from absorbing Egypt into the expanding Roman Empire.
Much detail about geography and m...more
By aligning herself with Mark Antony, Cleopatra hoped to keep Octavian (Julius Caesar's heir and Rome's probable next ruler) from absorbing Egypt into the expanding Roman Empire.
Much detail about geography and m...more
I still love Colleen McCullough, but Antony is just not nearly as interesting a main character as Caesar, or Sulla. I might be more interested if Octavian was the central character, but probably not. I found myself struggling through this book, just because I didn't feel the need to know what happened next.
There are nice little historical cameos by Herod, and other minor kings, which are fun, but all too short.
Worth reading to finish out the series, but I wouldn't sugges...more
There are nice little historical cameos by Herod, and other minor kings, which are fun, but all too short.
Worth reading to finish out the series, but I wouldn't sugges...more
I've read all the books in Colleen McCullough's series on Julius Caesar and greatly enjoyed them, so I had to buy this book even though I felt like I'd had enough of Cleopatra. Somehow McCullough makes a subject that has been written about a lot seem fresh. Her characterizations of the many figures in this story are interesting and complex and bring them to life. I have wondered where she gets her information since many of the details of the story are quite different from accounts I've read b...more
Every engrossing, if you enjoying wading through Roman history and descriptions of battles and maneuvers - as I do. Anyone looking for a sweeping romance novel is in the wrong place!
I'm not overly sure about her depictions of both Anthony and Cleopatra, they seem rather iffy and more suited to the front page of some magazine you pick up in the grocery store. Fortunately, despite the title, most of the book is taken up with Octavian and his political dance against Anthony. It was a...more
I'm not overly sure about her depictions of both Anthony and Cleopatra, they seem rather iffy and more suited to the front page of some magazine you pick up in the grocery store. Fortunately, despite the title, most of the book is taken up with Octavian and his political dance against Anthony. It was a...more
This is the second McCullough novel I've tried to read. Do I love historical fiction? You bet. Rome? Sure. Rome AND Egypt? Should be a slam dunk! Nonetheless, I found this book to be dry as the endless desert, to quote one of the more poetic passages. I had the same experience with "Caesar's Women" - I'm totally convinced that McCullough has done her homework and knows more about ancient Rome than is strictly necessary. Somehow, though she fails to draw me in to these classic stories, ...more
A wonderfully researched and written story of Mark Antony, his struggles with Caesar's surprise heir, Octavian, and his relationship and wars with Cleopatra against Octavian's forces. It follows her other stories of Julius Caesar and his predecessors beginning with the novel The Grass Crown. She researched it all in the Vatican and drew her own pictures of what she thought the characters looked like. This is one series of Books that I own and plan to read all again.
McCullough newest take on the history of Rome once again has shown that she can use original sources, historical works and lots of imagination to give us a picture of Rome and the ancient world that entertains without losing track of the history. Cleopatra is not a beauty queen but is seductive, to the right male. She loves her children and the men she loves, but is not above using them. And, she is not above outright murder. McCullough uses her imagination to describe a decade of western ci...more
This is the 7th book in the series. I found all of them facinating. McCullough takes known facts from ancient Rome and weaves them into a novel, filling in the blanks with her views of what happened. While not necessarily accurate, it gives a vivid picture of life was probably like back then. It is scary to see the parallels with today where too many of the leaders were out for them selves rather than looking out for the good of Rome.
Randomly picked this one off the shelf in the library. Coming in at #7 has been a bit confusing, but what is more daunting as I try to read it is that it looks like it is about twice as long as it should be. Very detailed, but a bit boring. Not sure if I'll finish it.
Nope, didn't finish it. I just have too much going on right now. Normally I like historically detailed books, so maybe I'll start at the beginning of the series next time.
Nope, didn't finish it. I just have too much going on right now. Normally I like historically detailed books, so maybe I'll start at the beginning of the series next time.
Another excellent book in McCullough's Masters of Rome series for which she was awarded a doctorate--and rightly so! Well, if it wasn't an asp, could it have been a cobra? Cleopatra certainly didn't drink poison according to McCullough. Why did Julius Caesar's 15-year-old son by Cleopatra have to die? Why were Antony's children by Cleopatra allowed to live? What was Octavian's part in all of this? Caesar Romulus or Caesar Augustus? Which name was more appropriate and why? McCullough give...more
Whopper of a book/CD that I almost gave up on. I think this should have been called something like Antony versus Octavian or Caesar Augustus or something else all together. I do not think that the writer liked Cleopatra or Antony either so why bother writing such a detailed long book just because they were famous or a set of books would not be complete without them?! I was not impressed.
Oh dear. This was a struggle. At first, I was into the plot and the characters, but I felt like the story didn't flow due to the level of historical detail that was included. So many names and places were mentioned that weren't important to the story, which was lost in all the mess. 800-odd pages of this was too much. Disappointing, because I usually like McCullough and historical fiction...
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Colleen McCullough AO (born 1 June 1937) is an internationally acclaimed Australian author. Colleen was born in Wellington in central west New South Wales to James and Laurie McCullough.
She grew up during World War II. In her first year of medical studies at the University of Sydney she suffered dermatitis from surgical soap and was told to abandon her dreams of becoming a medical doct...more
More about Colleen McCullough...
She grew up during World War II. In her first year of medical studies at the University of Sydney she suffered dermatitis from surgical soap and was told to abandon her dreams of becoming a medical doct...more
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