Description
Renowned author and historian Jackie French takes us back in time to Greece and Rome and explores young heroes in ancient myths and legends whose stories will now be told.
Forget what you know about Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen with a fantastic hairstyle. That's only part of the story. Before she was a ruler, Cleopatra was a girl with a fierce ambition: to become pharaoh.
When twelve-year-old Cleopatra and her father, Pharaoh Ptolemy XII, flee to ancient Rome in 59 BCE after Cleopatra's sister seizes the throne, they are in serious trouble. It's up to Cleopatra to raise enough gold to hire an army, gain the support of powerful allies, and take back her country's land.
Three years later she had become the most famous pharaoh in history.
This is the story of how that year in ancient Rome might have changed Cleopatra's life, with daring escapes, crocodiles, pirates, shipwreck and encountering the intrepid Captain Fileas and Myra, the slave determined to be free.
From one of Australia's best-loved authors comes the first title in an exciting new series that explores the Ancient World.
Review
Cleopatra is twelve years old and her father, the Pharaoh of Egypt, has been overthrown by his other daughter, Berenice. They have escaped to Rome to try and find a way to get the throne back, but they have very little money and not not much help from anyone - except Pompey and his wife, Julia, who have given them somewhere to stay.
Cleopatra is determined to return to Egypt and her beloved library. But she is going to have to do it herself as her father is not very sensible - which is probably why he lost the throne in the first place!
With a slave called Myra, she sets off to convince the moneylenders to give her gold. But nothing goes quite to plan and they end up on the pirate ship of Captain Fileas and his crew. When they get caught in a massive storm, they are ship wrecked on an island. Will Cleopatra ever get back to Egypt?
This is Jackie French’s version of all the things that could have happened to Cleopatra while she was in Rome in 59BCE. She was definitely intelligent, kind and loved to read, and she could also speak multiple languages. In this story Cleopatra comes to life as a twelve-year-old girl who always has a plan or two - even if they don’t always work out! A fascinating insight into the woman who we still know and talk about 2000 years later, and how this twelve month period in Rome could have shaped her life.
This will be a great companion to read while studying Ancient Egypt and Rome, as it is sure to create lots of discussion about what Cleopatra might really have done. Perfect for history lovers in upper primary and lower secondary.
