11 h 32 minAudiobook17 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
An Egyptian prince confesses, and ambition, seduction, and betrayal share the page.
In Cleopatra, H. Rider Haggard brings adventure and romance into the age of the last pharaohs. An Egyptian prince's confession frames the tale, giving its themes of ambition, seduction, and betrayal a personal point of entry.
The promise here is both intimate and dramatic: a prince's account set against the world of the last pharaohs. Read for the tension between ambition and desire, and for a romance in which betrayal belongs alongside seduction.
What you’ll discover
- A prince's confession Enter the tale through an Egyptian prince's account of ambition, seduction, and betrayal.
- The last pharaohs Step into the age that gives this adventure its Egyptian setting.
- Ambition at the heart Explore a tale that places ambition beside the pull of seduction.
- Romance shadowed by betrayal Discover the uneasy promise of romance in a story where betrayal matters.
- Adventure with personal stakes Follow a confession that brings a prince's perspective to the adventure.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy ancient Egypt, temple mysteries, tomb adventures and doomed love will find plenty here, along with fans of Cleopatra, Antony and Caesar seen through the eyes of a rival who loves her.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A dying mother's prophecy marks the child
- Study at Annu and a warning about women
- Initiation in the shrine and a secret crowning
- Alexandria, a brawl and a clever cousin
- The magician at court and the crown of roses
- A queen in the tower and a laugh at the wrong time
- The price of mercy and a treasure in the pyramid
- What the story is really about
- How the story is told
Who’s who
- HarmachisA priest of Isis and secretly crowned Pharaoh, trained from birth to free Egypt by killing Cleopatra, and the writer of the confession.
- CleopatraThe brilliant, lonely and dangerous Queen of Egypt, who plays the game of Rome and love as cleverly as any general.
- CharmionHarmachis's beautiful cousin, a lady-in-waiting and secret plotter, who plans the attack and loves him in silence.
- SepaHarmachis's uncle, the booming High Priest of Annu, who teaches him and organizes the conspiracy against the Ptolemies.
- AmenemhatHarmachis's stern father, High Priest of Abouthis, who has waited half his life for the day his son will rule.
- AtouaThe old nurse, part healer and part prophetess, whose chatter hides deep wisdom and whose loyalty costs her dearly.
- BrennusA blunt Gaulish captain of Cleopatra's guard who admires courage and offers Harmachis friendship in a hostile court.
- AntonyThe Roman triumvir, a strong, generous and weak-willed soldier.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 32 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 17 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Cleopatra
by H. Rider Haggard · 1889
A hidden prince trained to kill Cleopatra in Alexandria must carry a dagger past the one woman he cannot resist.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Cleopatra is a historical romance by H. Rider Haggard, the English storyteller who also wrote King Solomon's Mines.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dying mother's prophecy marks the child
The book opens in the voice of Harmachis, a broken man writing in a prison tower beside the temple of Abouthis. He swears by Osiris that he tells the truth, and he names himself a traitor who listened to a woman and forgot his god. Then he goes back to the day of his birth, the same day on which Cleopatra was born, in the temple town where his father Amenemhat is High Priest.
His mother lies dying when the Hathors, the goddesses of fate, fill her with the spirit of prophecy. She takes a golden serpent, the royal uraeus, from an ivory chest and lays it on the baby's brow. She declares him the future Pharaoh who will cleanse the land, and she lays a curse on him should he fail when his hour of trial comes. Then she falls dead across his cradle.
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What is Cleopatra by H. Rider Haggard about?
It is a historical romance told by Harmachis, an Egyptian prince and priest sent to Alexandria to kill Queen Cleopatra and free Egypt from foreign rule. His mission is complicated by love, jealousy and betrayal.
Who is Harmachis in the novel?
Harmachis is the fictional narrator, the last heir of Egypt's ancient royal line, raised in a temple to be Pharaoh. His name is also the Greek title of the Sphinx, and a real pretender of that name appears in the author's note.
Is Cleopatra by Rider Haggard a true story?
No. Haggard wrote it in 1889 as fiction. Cleopatra, Antony, Caesar and the events at Actium are real history, but Harmachis, Charmion and the plot to kill the queen are invented to suggest an answer to old historical puzzles.
The author
H. Rider Haggard
1856–1925 · English adventure novelist
Henry Rider Haggard (1856–1925) was an English novelist. He was born in Norfolk, lived in southern Africa from 1875 to 1881, and later settled in Norfolk. He wrote King Solomon’s Mines (1885), She (1887), and Beatrice (1890). He also wrote about agriculture and rural life. He died in London.
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