Stacy schiff books list of books by author stacy schiff. Famous long before she was notorious, cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. That said, it was no cakewalk to write a book about a greek woman whose history comes to us from roman men. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors.
The cleopatra of pop culture is very different from the cleopatra of history, who we dont actually know that much about. A life by pulitzeraward winning author stacy schiff. How history and hollywood got cleopatra wrong the egyptian queen is most often remembered as a beautiful seductress. Nov 02, 2010 as stacy schiff describes it in a captivating new biography, cleopatras meeting with julius caesar was a singular, shuddering moment, when two civilizations, passing in different. Read schiffs alluring and appealing history of the real cleopatra, and find out why nearly everything we think we know about her is wrong. Stacy schiff, author official website the witches now. Egypts ruler was more than the sum of the seductions that loom so large in history and in hollywood. Nov 01, 2010 a pulitzer prizewinning biographer presents a swift, sympathetic life of one of historys most maligned and legendary women. Hardcover, paperback, audio, ibook, kindle stacy schiff brings to life one of the most intriguing women in the history of the world. My favorite is i cleopatra which was published in the seventies and i really look to that book as being the gold standard of all things cleopatra. I fell in love with the pulitzer prizewinning historian stacy schiff within the first few pages of cleopatranot just for her gifts as a researcher, which are prodigious, but for her prose style, which is almost fantastically elegant.
Stacy madeleine schiff is an american former editor, essayist, and author of five biographies. Cleopatra by stacy schiff i have thoughts on books. Stacy schiff her palace shimmered with onyx, garnet, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Vladimir nabokov, which won the 2000 pulitzer prize for biography. Our bookstore has been in business for five years now and it is becoming a much appreciated part of the literary scene. Franklin, france, and the birth of america, winner of the george washington book prize, the ambassador award in american studies, and the gilbert chinard prize of the institut francais damerique. Cleopatra book columbus metropolitan library bibliocommons. Based on your selected book, very briefly describe the scope and focus of your historian work, then, state the historians thesiscore argument and subthesis. She puts you there and shows you with both eloquence and care. A life, pulitzer prize winner stacy schiff makes the case that the richest and most powerful woman of all time was less wanton temptress than savvy politician. Schiff told me she had to go back to primary sources.
Cleopatra by stacy schiff, read by robin miles audiobook excerpt. Ive written about hypatia, the lady philosopher of alexandria. Why cleopatra still matters interview with author stacy schiff. May 15, 20 cleopatra documentary biography of the life of cleopatra last pharaoh of egypt duration. After a dense first few chapters, cleopatra becomes an absorbing look at a woman remembered more often for the things that she wasnt than for the things that she was. Stacy schiff writes, it is not difficult to understand why caesar became history, cleopatra a legend page 5. She has received fellowships from the guggenheim foundation and the national endowment for the humanities, and was a directors fellow at the center for scholars and writers at the new york public library. Stacy schiff brings to life one of the most intriguing women in the history of the world. Stacy schiff boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order, a generation before the birth of christ. Now in paperback history in the hands of stacy schiff is invariably full of life, light, shadow, surprise, clarity of insight, and so it is again and then some in her latest work, the witches. Cleopatra by stacy schiff little, brown and company. This is a unique part of guadalajara with a vibrant ambiance, lots of bookstores, restaurants, coffee shops, it is a fun unique part of this city. This book is no mere biography of cleopatra s life.
For to understand cleopatra s life you need to understand the places she went, the people she knew, and the times she inhabited. Franklin, france, and the birth of america, winner of the george washington book prize and the ambassador book award. The cleopatra most of us know is a fictional creation. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.
Dec 05, 2010 stacy schiff knows a bit about traveling back in time to bring people to life. The author paints a vivid portrait of the end of the hellenistic period. Can a woman branded a whore by the great bard himself, ever really have a reputation as anything else. Along the way, cleopatra s supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. Dec 09, 2010 do we need another book about cleopatra of egypt. In this beautifullywritten biography, stacy schiff tries to peel away the centuries of accretions in the form of purple prose, propaganda and the overheated male gaze, to reveal the ruler beneath. But it turns out we have seriously underestimated the last egyptian queen.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read cleopatra. Using a wide range of sources, she spins straw into gold, conjuring the world of ptolemaic egypt in full vibrant color, and returning the voice of one of the most powerful, fascinating, and maligned women in history. Rehabilitating cleopatra history smithsonian magazine. It provided me with better information than that from wikipedia. If you want to read 300 pages about how awesome queen cleo was, then this is the book for you. Vladimir nabokov, she immersed herself in early american history for her subsequent biography, a. That schiffs book is the basis of a new paul greengrass film. In addition, she has a tartness to match the standards of cleos. As stacy schiff describes it in a captivating new biography, cleopatra s meeting with julius caesar was a singular, shuddering moment, when two civilizations, passing in different. The first edition of the novel was published in september 5th 2006, and was written by stacy schiff.
Rich in detail, epic in scope, schiff s is a luminous reconstruction of a dazzling life. Discuss the role of subjectivity in historical records. Interview with stacy schiff, author of cleopatra sfgate. L uscious and scrupulous is a difficult combination to pull off, but stacy schiff does so in her life of cleopatra. Miranda seymour enjoys a dramatic biography of the last and most dazzling of the ptolemys. Great historians can make the discovery of the real story more exciting than the romantic myth. Stacy schiff won the pulitzer prize for her 1999 biography, vera. Ancient history never holds my attention quite as well as modern history does, so it is a testament to stacy schiff that i got so much out of this book. The book injects the egyptian queen with a complexity and humanity that has long since been forgottenit glows with details.
Stacy schiff, a pulitzer prizewinning historian and a guest editorialist for the new york times, has written a fascinating historical biography of one of the most alluring and elusive women in recorded history cleopatra vii. There has already been one scholarly biography this year by duane roller, now here is stacy schiff, the author of a terrific pulitzerprize. Above all else, cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Directly challenging 2,000 year old assumptions that were enhanced by the likes of dante, and director joseph mankiewicz, is a tall order for even the most accomplished. Vladimir nabokov, which won the pulitzer prize for biography in 2000, and saintexupery. The pulitzer prizewinning author stacy schiff attempts to paint a more complete picture in her new book, called cleopatra. Schiff has received fellowships from the guggenheim foundation, the national endowment for the. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 302 pages and is available in hardcover format. Nov 01, 2010 how history and hollywood got cleopatra wrong the egyptian queen is most often remembered as a beautiful seductress. A life, biographer stacy schiff explains how the well. Stacy schiff penetrates an ancient thicket of personalities and. Stacy schiff, a great historian as well as a wonderful writer, peels away the layers to reveal the true cleopatraa much more interesting woman than the hollywood version, and, as it turns out, a formidable queen after all. Cleopatra book strathcona county library bibliocommons. Stacy schiff, a great historian as well as a wonderful writer, peels away the layers to reveal the true cleopatra a much more interesting woman than the hollywood version, and, as it turns out, a formidable queen after all.
Schiff has also written biographies of french aviator and author of the little prince. Franklin, france, and the birth of america, 2005, etc. She takes a story that has been told countless times and meticulously shows how that picture we all have of cleopatra, the last ptolemaic queen, has been influenced and changed over the centuries and what might be the truth underneath all. Stacy schiff doesnt just tell you, history book style, how the ancients behaved. I picked up this book because it was getting a lot of buzz on various history and reading sites for being a lucid, easytoread, modern biography of cleopatra. Stacy schiff has been praised highly for her skillful writing style, and i wasnt disappointed upon reading the book. Schiff has received fellowships from the guggenheim foundation, the national endowment for the humanities. Stacy schiff is the author of a great improvisation and vera mrs. Stacy schiff does a good job explaining possible motives and actions that occurred by drawing from what we know and what people like plutarch knew.
In a masterly return to the classical sources, stacy schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. New yorker contributor schiff a great improvisation. Her supple personality and the drama of her circumstances. I finished this book feeling dazzled not just by cleopatra but by the brilliance of schiffs recreation and analysis of her. A life is speculative, borderline revisionist history. The publisher has done the author no service in that respect. What other author of popular history do you read for the sentences. Stacy schiff for sale collectibles online shopping.
Signed the witches salem, 1692 by stacy schiff first print autographed new. I walked those ebony doors and onyx floors with her as she painted the scenes and expounded the tricky customs, laws and rhetoric that shaped cleopatras formative years. The wall street journals critic wrote, stacy schiff does a rare thing. Stacy schiff the witches salem, 1692 a history 1st edition 1st printing.
Schiff was drawn to the vocation herself by her interest in antoine saintexupery, an attraction. A life present a well detailed historical past of cleopatra the last of egyptian queens. How does schiff factor that subjectivity into her account. A life by stacy schiff a new and important biography of the misunderstood final queen of egypt. The main characters of this history, biography story are cleopatra. Nov 24, 2010 the biggest legend debunked by this remarkable book is the ageold reason for cleopatras death. Her palace shimmered with onyx and gold but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. The depth in which stacy schiff took her book is incredible, both in scope as well as in narrative prowess. Not that she needs my endorsement her book won the pulitzer prize. One of the new york times 10 best books of 2010 her palace shimmered. Stacy schiff has a serious girl crush on cleopatra.
Nov 07, 2010 stacy schiff penetrates an ancient thicket of personalities and propaganda to reconstruct the macedonianegyptian queen cleopatra in all her ambition, audacity and formidable intelligence. The pulitzer prizewinning biographer brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world. I remembered little about the famous egyptian ruler from world history class in high school, and i dont think the elizabeth taylor movie counts as a documentary, so schiffs book felt like my introduction to cleopatra. Vladimir nabokov, she immersed herself in early american history. Written by stacy schiff, audiobook narrated by robin miles.
Stacy schiff is an american pulitzer prize winning author and historian, as well as a guest columnist for the new york times. Cleopatra en espanol by stacy schiff nook book ebook. This was a great introduction to cleopatra, and i really enjoyed reading about her and her reign of egypt. The author rises to the subject with sympathy and brings the immensity of her life and times with great accomplishment. A life i found this book to be good but not exceptional. The story we know comes mainly from the early first century roman writers plutarch and dio. In stacy schiffs terrific new biography of historys favorite sexcrazed, powermad hussy, called simply cleopatra, schiff tosses out centuries worth of envy, misogyny, and plain old snark to unearth the brilliant macedonian ruler and restore the golden luster of cleopatra viis reign in egyptas gripping as the story of cleopatras 22year reign over egypt is especially once mark antony arrives in his breastplate, the greatest pleasure comes from reading schiffs lavishly. The pulitzer prizewinning author stacy schiff attempts to paint a more complete picture in her new book, cleopatra. Schiff has received fellowships from the guggenheim. Stacy schiff penetrates an ancient thicket of personalities and propaganda to reconstruct the macedonianegyptian queen cleopatra in all her ambition, audacity and formidable intelligence.
Her palace shimmered with onyx and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. The biography portrays the egyptian ruler as a shrewd political strategist who used her affairs to further her own power, as well as one of the. Cleopatra has through history set the minds of so many great artists aflame. According to author stacy schiff, thats like reading a history of twentiethcentury america written by chairman mao. Part of that is that i have read so many books on cleopatra. Though her life spanned fewer than 40 years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. Stacy schiff took a great risk when she wrote cleopatra. Cleopatra by stacy schiff, 9780316001946, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Schiff reminds us that cleopatra and her family were not related to the egyptian pharaohs but descended from ptolemy, a macedonian general with alexander the great.
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