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“Cleopatra’s Daughter,” by Michelle Moran (2009, Crown) –
With lots of ancient history and just a touch of trash, this is a fine escapist novel. Moran’s research is broad and deep; her storytelling engaging. She steadily spins the story of Selene and Alexander, the twin offspring of Marc Antony and Cleopatra. (The twins are kidnapped after their parents take their own lives rather than satisfy their rival leader, Octavian.) Delectable copious material-culture detail–clothing, food and furnishings—is used to chronicle the twins’ Roman lives.
–Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett, April 2010
(For book reviews with more words, see my archive at The Seattle Times, where I worked for some years. I freelance for the paper as a reviewer and over the years have been assigned some terrific books.)
