''Cleopatra: Being an Account of the Fall and Vengeance of Harmachis'' is an

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

novel written by English author H. Rider Haggard and first printed in 1889 by

Longmans Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

. ''Cleopatra'' mixes historical action with supernatural events, and could be described as a

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthu ...

novel.Smith, Curtish C. "H. Rider Haggard." In E. F. Bleiler, ed. ''Supernatural Fiction Writers''. New York: Scribner's, 1985. (pp.321-328).

Synopsis

The story is set in the

Ptolemaic Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to: Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty * Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter * Ptolemaic Kingdom Pertaining ...

era of Ancient Egyptian history and revolves around the survival of a

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

bloodline protected by the Priesthood of

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

. The main character Harmachis (the living descendant of the pharaoh's bloodline) is charged by the Priesthood to overthrow the supposed impostor Cleopatra, drive out the Greeks and Romans and restore Egypt to its golden era. Harmachis attempts to use his priestly

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

to undermine Cleopatra's rule. As is the case with the majority of Haggard's works, the story draws heavily upon

and

exotic Exotic may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Exotic R4, a differentiable 4-manifold, homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the Euclidean space R4 * Exotic sphere, a differentiable ''n''-manifold, homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the ordina ...

concepts. The story, told from the point of view of the Egyptian priest Harmachis, is recounted in biblical language, being in the form of papyrus scrolls found in a tomb.

Reception

Boucher and McComas gave the novel a mixed review, saying that it combined "a not always believable portrait" of its title heroine with a "fascinating, wholly convincing" story line. Curtis C. Smith described ''Cleopatra'' as "one of Haggard's best works, particularly for those modern readers who may find the implied defenses of colonialism in the ''Allan Quatermain'' and ''She'' series difficult to take." Smith added "Haggard's originality is to side with this indigenous culture against the Ptolemies and the Roman imperialists who threaten Egypt." John Scarborough included ''Cleopatra'' on a list of what he regarded as Haggard's best novels, along with ''

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the ...

'', '' She: A History of Adventure'', ''

Nada the Lily ''Nada the Lily'' is an historical novel by English writer H. Rider Haggard, published in 1892. It is said to be inspired by Haggard's time in South Africa (1875–82). It was illustrated by Charles H. M. Kerr. The novel tells the tale of the ...

'', ''

Red Eve ''Red Eve'' is a historical novel with fantasy elements, by British writer H. Rider Haggard, set in the reign of Edward III. ''Red Eve'' depicts the Battle of Crécy and the Black Death, and also features a supernatural personification of Dea ...

'', and ''

Eric Brighteyes ''Eric Brighteyes'' is an epic Viking novel by H. Rider Haggard that concerns the adventures of its eponymous principal character in 10th-century Iceland. The novel was first published in 1890 by Longmans, Green & Company. It was illustrated by ...

''.Scarborough, John. "H. Rider Haggard". In Bleiler, Richard, ''Science Fiction Writers : critical studies of the major authors from the early nineteenth century to the present day''. New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. (pp. 323-329)

References

External links

*
Images and bibliographic information for various editions
of Cleopatra at SouthAfricaBooks.com 1889 British novels British novels adapted into films Novels by H. Rider Haggard English historical novels Novels set in ancient Egypt Fictional depictions of Cleopatra in literature {{1880s-hist-novel-stub

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References

External links