A fantastical, fictionalized version of the death of Cleopatra, this eponymous story by H. Rider Haggard is told from the point of view of an Egyptian priest, Harmachis, who seeks her downfall to free his nation from the tyranny of the Macedonian Greek Dynasty. Told in Haggard's usual adventuresome style, and with just the right amount of magic and fantasy, we follow Harmachis as he grows into the role of an underground leader of his people, as he's placed into Cleopatra's court, and as he recounts the various trials and tribulations that accompany his plots against Cleopatra, whom he calls "a Thing of Flame like unto which no woman has ever been or ever will be." Several parts of the story were adapted for use in the 1917 silent film Cleopatra . H. Rider Haggard (died 1925) was a major literary figure of the early 20th century. Their work has endured across generations and continues to be read and studied worldwide. Adventure literature of the 19th and early 20th centuries captured the imagination of a reading public hungry for tales of exploration, danger, and heroism. Cleopatra belongs to this tradition of gripping narratives that transported readers beyond the boundaries of their everyday lives.
