Title: Cleopatra's Shadows Series: Fall of Egypt #1
Author: Emily Holleman
Published: October 6, 2015
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Page Count: 352
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Before Caesar and the carpet, before Antony and Actium, before Octavian and the asp, there was Arsinoe.
Abandoned by her beloved Cleopatra and an indifferent father, young Arsinoe must fight for her survival in the bloodthirsty royal court when her half-sister Berenice seizes Egypt's throne. Even as the quick-witted girl wins Berenice's favor, a new specter haunts her days-dark dreams that have a habit of coming true.
To survive, she escapes the palace for the war-torn streets of Alexandria. Meanwhile, Berenice confronts her own demons as she fights to maintain power. When their deposed father Ptolemy marches on the city with a Roman army, both daughters must decide where their allegiances truly lie, and Arsinoe grapples with the truth, that the only way to survive her dynasty is to rule it.
Emily Holleman brings the imagery and prose of literary fiction to Ptolemaic Egypt in Cleopatra’s Shadows, her first novel. This book fills in and offers a possible answer to unanswered questions: what were the lives of Cleopatra’s less-famous sisters like? Overall, I believe Holleman’s vision paints a compelling portrait of Berenice and Arsinoe, and though it wasn’t a perfect read, Cleopatra’s Shadows was still quite good.
In the interest of full disclosure: pre-Battle of Actium Egypt is my favorite historical time period, bar none. I am biased to automatically love any book set in Ancient Egypt, regardless of dynasty. That being said, I think that this book stands up pretty well on its own, even considering my strong preference for the source material.
Firstly, I really appreciate the concept of a book that zeroes in on historical figures who are overshadowed by greater beings. Cleopatra has been the subject of countless books, plays, poems, and films. But what about her friends and family—the people who (ostensibly) knew her best? That’s where this book comes in.
Cleopatra’s Shadows alternates between the viewpoints of Berenice, Ptolemy XII’s oldest daughter, and Arsinoe, his youngest. As any good armchair historian or Wikipedia afficionado will know, Berenice will die via execution by the end of the novel. (Arsinoe is also doomed to the same fate, just a few decades later.) So, from Berenice’s side, this is the tale of “The Rise and Fall of a Doomed Queen” and on Arsinoe’s side it’s “The Tragic Backstory of a Morally Complex Antihero.” This works well for the author on both fronts.
What’s interesting about this book, and what threw me off initially, is that this book is very internally focused, and Holleman’s craft is distinctly literary, rather than pure mainstream genre prose. For some readers who like lush descriptions and compelling plots, this may be a flaw. Others might appreciate the intense focus on the inner lives of these two women. I tended to feel both: I appreciated the beauty of the author’s prose while also wishing the author could have grounded the narrative with a more fleshed-out, descriptive portrayal of Alexandria. I do also think that the metaphor-heavy language of this novel was over the top at times, tending to make the characters inaccessible, rather than authentic. Tastes may vary.
That beings said, I think that Holleman’s characterization of Berenice and Arsinoe was consistent throughout. There was subtle, but noticeable character growth for both protagonists, and though the story’s trajectory was pre-decided by history, the novel’s conclusion fit the individual character arcs the author created.
Cleopatra’s Shadows does a lot of things well. It humanizes two figures who the court of common opinion usually judges to be villains; it shows that a more “highbrow” approach to writing can work in mainstream fiction; it tells a good story about nuanced, morally complex women. I really enjoyed this book.
