Cleopatra Queen of Egypt

Cleopatra Queen of Egypt presents the life and reign of Cleopatra VII, the final active ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt. Born into a Greek-speaking dynasty, Cleopatra used language, ceremony, diplomacy and personal alliances to preserve a kingdom increasingly constrained by Roman power. Her relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony are placed within the civil wars that transformed the Roman Republic rather than treated only as romantic legend.

The collection follows Cleopatra through her struggle for the throne, the Alexandrian War, her years with Antony and the defeat at Actium that brought Egypt under Octavian’s control. Powell’s introduction and curated ancient and later texts consider how Plutarch, Shakespeare, art and popular culture reshaped the historical queen. This expanded Collector’s Edition is scheduled for 27 October 2026; an earlier compact edition appeared in 2024 as Queen Cleopatra.