After Julius Caesar's death in 41 BC, Rome has no acknowledged ruler. Caesar's adopted son Octavian and his cousin Marc Antony divide the vast empire between them, Antony taking the East and Octavian the West. Antony travels to Egypt to demand reparation from Cleopatra to finance his military battles. Instead, she seduces him. Her aim is to make her son by Julius Caesar the ruler of Rome and she convinces Antony to lead his army against Octavian.  

The tragic story ends in death. When Antony’s armies desert him and join Octavian, he believes Cleopatra betrayed him. In fear, Cleopatra sends word to Antony that she is dead. Antony falls on his sword. Cleopatra commits suicide. Cleopatra's son, Caesarion, is proclaimed pharaoh by the Egyptians, but Octavian has already won. Caesarion is captured and executed. 

This is the first in McCullough's Masters of Rome series that I've read. Her THORN BIRDS is one of my all-time favorite novels, but in my opinion, Antony and Cleopatra is a lesser, though longer, effort. The author evidently did much research, but it is not always offered in an entertaining way. Information and explanation are presented too often in dialogue that is unnatural and takes the reader out of the story. McCullough is one of my favorite writers, but I was disappointed in ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA.

May 24, 2008