In addition, she has a tartness to match the standards of cleos handmaiden. Vladimir nabokov, she immersed herself in early american history. Franklin, france, and the birth of america, winner of the george washington book prize and the ambassador book award. Stream cleopatra by stacy schiff, read by robin miles audiobook excerpt by hachetteaudio from desktop or your mobile device.
Schiff, born in adams, massachusetts, is a graduate of phillips academy andover preparatory school, and earned her b. Hailed by critics as monumental boston globe and utterly romantic new york magazine, vera, the story of mrs. Stacy madeleine schiff born october 26, 1961 is an american nonfiction author residing in new york. New yorker contributor schiff a great improvisation. Get this book free when you sign up for a 30day trial. Cleopatra was an highly intelligent, resourceful woman who received the finest education available in her day. Stacy schiff books list of books by author stacy schiff. Stacy schiff penetrates an ancient thicket of personalities and propaganda to reconstruct the macedonianegyptian queen cleopatra in all her ambition, audacity and formidable intelligence. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws.
Interview with stacy schiff, author of cleopatra sfgate. 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. Buy online stacy schiff brings to life one of the most intriguing women in the history of the world. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing stacy schiffs cleopatra. Nov 01, 2015 its tempting to use historian stacy schiff s revelatory, sumptuously written new book, the witches. History was written by the victors even then and, to the detriment of cleopatras legacy, the victors were the fiercely misogynistic romans whose versions of events and whose branding of the egyptian queen as a great seductress ironically determined her. The last queen of egypt, cleopatra knew how to build a fleet, suppress an insurrection, control a currency, alleviate a famine. At its best, the latest work from schiff cleopatra. Stacy schiff mines ancient sources to find the real cleopatra. Dec 31, 2011 famous long before she was notorious, cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons.
Cleopatra was born a goddess, became a queen at 18 and at the height of her power, ms. 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 schiff s book felt like my. To understand cleopatra is to understand how ancient history was written, by whom and for whom, and why. Monarchy on the contrary, has an unpleasant sound, but is a most practical form of government to live under. Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Get 50% off this audiobook at the audiobooksnow online audio book store and download or stream it right to your computer, smartphone or tablet. Oct 31, 2011 stacy schiff explains how the salem witch trials began duration. L uscious and scrupulous is a difficult combination to pull off, but stacy schiff does so in her life of cleopatra. Nov 02, 2010 cleopatra was born a goddess, became a queen at 18 and at the height of her power, ms. Vladimir nabokov, author of lolita, pale fire, and speak, memory, wrote his books first. If you want to read 300 pages about how awesome queen cleo was, then this is the book for you. A life by stacy schiff a new and important biography of the misunderstood final queen of egypt.
Cleopatras palace shimmered with onyx and gold but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Schiff has received fellowships from the guggenheim foundation, the national endowment for the humanities. A life is a compelling, stunningly contextual biography. She built a kingdom into a mighty empire that stretched down the shimmering eastern coastline of the mediterranean.
You might think you know everything there is to know about. Vladimir nabokov, brings to shimmering life one of the greatest literary love stories of our time. Pulitzer prizewinning biographer stacy schiff brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world. Her supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. Mar 26, 2015 the last queen of egypt, cleopatra knew how to build a fleet, suppress an insurrection, control a currency, alleviate a famine. Nov 01, 2010 a pulitzer prizewinning biographer presents a swift, sympathetic life of one of historys most maligned and legendary women.
Stacy schiff is the author of a great improvisation and vera mrs. It makes sense of the canonical, jumbled, and inconsistent biographical accounts of ancient writers who didnt know cleopatra personally. Stacy schiff, in her superb biography of cleopatra, does her best to repair the damage. Famous long before she was notorious, cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. 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. Vladimir nabokovthe emigre author of lolita, pale fire, and speak, memorywrote his books first for. Stacy schiff books, ebooks, audiobooks, biography barnes. A life, stacy schiff has made a laudable and entertaining start to demythologizing the queen of the nile and revealing the extraordinary woman she truly was.
The pulitzer prizewinning biographer brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world. Salem, 1692, which the new york times hailed as an almost novelistic, thrillerlike narrative. She takes on the myth and the tangled and muddled evidence surrounding this most intriguing of women, and builds a persuasive portrait that leaves behind the simplistic seductress and gives the empress her full due as brilliant leader, adroit politician and. Stacy schiffs the witches is an intoxicating brew of history. In a masterly return to the classical sources, stacy schiff boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. A life by stacy schiff, an evocative retelling of the intriguing life of cleopatra. Joseph ellis deemed schiff s the finest account to date of the witch trials.
In her latest book, stacy schiff, the pulitzer prizewinning biographer of vera nabokov and benjamin franklin, plucks at this riddle and what she discoversabout cleopatra and the men who made her mythis astonishing. Empress galla placidia and her niece pulcheria who both ruled rome in its waning days. Salem,1692, as yet another occasion to apply american historys favorite metaphor. Stacy schiff boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death. Stacy schiff provides a new insight into the life of historys most elusive famous person. Stacy schiff s meticulous research, the depth and deftness of her portrayal, have given us a cleopatra far richer and more satisfying than the myths and fantasies that we have mistaken for true nourishment. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Rich in detail, epic in scope, schiff s is a luminous reconstruction of a dazzling life. Later, augustus would enhance his own glory by delivering the tabloid version of an egyptian queen, insatiable, treacherous, bloodthirsty, powercrazy, says biographer stacy schiff. Stacy schiff explains how the salem witch trials began duration. Jan 10, 2011 stacy schiff, in her superb biography of cleopatra, does her best to repair the damage. Schiff has also published the books a great improvisation, cleopatra. She earned her degree from williams college in 1982.
Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Cleopatra was queen of a large, rich, highly sophisticated country for more than 20 years, yet almost everything we know about her comes from a legend created by her most deadly enemy, the roman emperor augustus. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading quicklet on stacy schiffs cleopatra. Vera unabridged vera unabridged audiobook, by stacy schiff.
A pulitzer prizewinning biographer presents a swift, sympathetic life of one of historys most maligned and legendary women. Nov 01, 2010 the pulitzer prizewinning biographer brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world. As author stacy schiff points out, its as if our only information about napoleon. Oct 14, 2009 winner of the 2000 pulitzer prize for biography and hailed by critics as both monumental boston globe and utterly romantic new york magazine, stacy schiffs vera, the story of mrs. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Stacy schiffs website hatchette reading group guide stacy schiff on cspan stacy schiff on the daily show wbez interview with stacy schiff the new york times interview with stacy schiff cleopatra wikipedia entry cleopatra as a subject of paintings. Schiff is very upfront about the shortage of unbiased information of the infamous queen. Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Stacy schiff has a serious girl crush on cleopatra.
Cleopatra is portrayed as an intelligent, educated power broker who knew how to persuade kings to come to her side and her people to support her. This page is maintained by little, brown and company. Schiff writes, she controlled virtually the entire eastern mediterranean coast, the last great kingdom of. Yet she has gone down in history as just the consort of julius. Schiff has received fellowships from the guggenheim foundation, the national endowment for the.
Stacy schiff on cleopatra the last queen of egypt youtube. Along the way, cleopatra s supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. A life cliffnotes like book summary kindle edition by kraly, paul, paula kalamaras. Written by stacy schiff, audiobook narrated by carole boyd. Cleopatra by stacy schiff, read by robin miles audiobook. The pulitzer prizewinning biographer provides an account of a foundational american tragedy of mass hysteria and injustice. Franklin, france, and the birth of america, 2005, etc. Vladimir nabokov, which won the 2000 pulitzer prize for biography. 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.
Stacy schiff simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This cleopatra is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the history and lives of women. Ideally, as stacy schiff observes in her magnificent recreation of both an extraordinary woman, and her times, our sense of cleopatra would be heightened by. Stacy schiff knows a bit about traveling back in time to bring people to life. A life by stacy schiff in chm, epub, fb2 download ebook. Purchase other stacy schiff titles online these online retailers carry books in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio where available. David mccullough declared the book brilliant from start to finish. A pulitzer prizewinner, stacy schiff is the author most recently of the witches. Michelangelo, tiepolo, and elizabeth taylor put a face to her name. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world.
A life, winner of the penjacqueline bograd weld award for biography. Stacy madeleine schiff born october 26, 1961 is an american former editor, essayist, and author of five biographies. Jul 22, 2011 l uscious and scrupulous is a difficult combination to pull off, but stacy schiff does so in her life of cleopatra. Forget what youve heard about her being a seductress ruled by her own desires. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it.
Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today. 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. Ive written about hypatia, the lady philosopher of alexandria. Jan 21, 2011 ideally, as stacy schiff observes in her magnificent recreation of both an extraordinary woman, and her times, our sense of cleopatra would be heightened by her dramatic appearance as the doomed. Stacy schiff cleopatra p 148 as dio observed later, democracy sounded very well and good, but its results are seen not to agree at all with its title. I put that word in quotes on purpose, as, of course, it is impossible to write a true biography of someone we know only from the writings of her moreorless contemporary enemies and from the writings of those who came later and defined her by their own prejudices. Above all else, cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. 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. Stacy schiff has provided us with a fascinating biography of cleopatra.
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