Antony and Cleopatra (novel)

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Antony and Cleopatra
First edition cover
Author	Colleen McCullough
Country	Australia
Language	English
Series	Masters of Rome series
Genre(s)	Historical novel
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Publication date	4 December 2007
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	567 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN	ISBN 1-4165-5294-4 (first edition, hardback)
Preceded by	The October Horse (novel)
Followed by	none

Antony and Cleopatra is the seventh and purposedly last novel in Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series.

[edit] Plot summary

McCullough continues her Masters of Rome series with the seventh and final installment, Antony and Cleopatra. The novel spans the years 41 B.C. to 27 B.C, from the aftermath of the Battle of Philippi and the suicide of Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus until the downfall of the second triumvirate, the final war of the roman republic and the naming of Octavian to Augustus in 27 BC. The novel, which is supposed to be McCullough's last in the series, focuses mainly on the famous love story between Mark Antony, victor at Philippi, and queen Cleopatra, earlier the lover of Caesar.

This book differs greatly from Shakespeare's treatment of these events; Cleopatra is portrayed as no great beauty, but a rather inept politician who helps ruin Antony's cause by publicly meddling, and Antony is, for much of the book, far more in love with Cleopatra's wealth than her person. Caesarion is portrayed as a gifted, idealistic youth who would be far happier had he never been a king, who is not happy with his mother's ambitious plans to make him ruler of all the East.