I have now read three of Michelle Moran's books and I've loved all of them! I love her style and subject matter. She really makes history come to life. Her writing style sort of reminds me of Philippa Gregory's in The Other Boleyn Girl.
OVERVIEW: Cleopatra's Daughter begins at the defeat of Alexandria by Octavian. At the time, Selene, Cleopatra's daughter (hence the title) is 11 years old. The story focuses on Selene and her life as a political prisoner in Octavian's household. As far as prisoners have it, she has it great- she lives comfortably, as if she is part of her captor's family. She makes friends with the other kids in the household and she is given an excellent education. She is given the opportunity to study architecture and even contribute to many of the architectural projects Octavian's family sponsors. However, she is not content: she is suffering from unrequited love, she is deeply worried about her twin brother's life (as a male heir of the enemy, will he be killed once he reaches the age of 15?), she is worried about where she will end up (most likely married to some gross old man for political gain), she mourns her dead family and misses her home, and she chafes under the injustices of the Roman culture (woman have extremely limited rights, 1/3 of the population is enslaved, babies are thrown away like garbage, etc.). In the meantime, there is a rebel in the midst of Rome. He calls himself the Red Eagle and he fights against slavery. He leaves propaganda all over the city. What's worse, he seems to know what's happening even within the emperor's family. Octavian is angered at the unrest and fearful of what could happen if this Red Eagle inspires enough rebellion in the populace, and stops at nothing to find and kill him. He even suspects members of his household could be involved. Selene is intrigued by the Red Eagle and supports his cause.
THE GOOD STUFF: I love Michelle Moran's writing! It really sweeps me into the story. I really reacted emotionally to much of what happened in the story. I was sad, I was angry, I was heartbroken, I was intrigued. The book was well-researched and I learned quite a bit about the history and culture of Rome. (I also decided that the Roman empire was a crappy place to live, especially as a woman and/or a slave, and I'm grateful not to have lived then!) Happily, it has a pretty happy ending, and that made me happy too. I appreciated that other than some raunchy Roman poetry, most of the sexual content (rape, prostitution, homosexuality, adultery) was only alluded to and not at all graphic.
THE NOT-SO-GOOD STUFF: I don't have too many complaints about this novel. There were a lot of sad and maddening things that happen in the story, but it was a good story. My biggest complaint (not to give too much away) is probably that the love story near the end was dropped on us rather suddenly. I feel like it could have used a little more build-up. But that is a minor complaint.
TO SUM UP: Seriously, read Michelle Moran's books, especially if you're a fan of historical fiction! They're awesome!
(above image found at https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/8141616-cleopatra-s-daughter)
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