Emily Holleman, a graduate of Yale University, spent several years as an editor for Salon -- a job she left to follow Arsinoë and her quest for the throne of Egypt. Currently based in Brooklyn, she has devoted the past three years to reading and writing about the Ptolemies and is, like Arsinoë, a younger sister. She is the author of Cleopatra's Shadows: A Fall of Egypt Novel.
"A colorful tale full of the sights and smells of ancient Egypt,
with palace intrigues populated by eunuchs, learned tutors, and
slaves of every stripe."--Enid Shomer, author of The Twelve Rooms
of the Nile
"Abundant historical references and details of court life create a
strong setting for a dialogue-driven story.... The well-researched
novel covers little known material from a fascinating historical
period."--Booklist
"An outstanding debut novel.... Some writers seem destined to
unearth the truth of a time and a place and a set of people: Mary
Renault and Alexander, Hilary Mantel and Thomas Cromwell and now
Emily Holleman and the last generation of Ptolemies. The vivacity,
the verve, the sense of bone deep truth of the writing-all are
superb. There's a freshness to the prose that is truly captivating,
and a dynamism to the narrative that gives life to the people whose
names are otherwise a footnote in history."--Manda Scott, author of
The Crystal Skull
"Breathing new life into these historical personalities....
-Holleman offers a fresh take on the Ptolemy dynasty and has
delivered what promises to be just the first in an exciting series
about Arsinoe, youngest sister of Cleopatra."--Jane Henriksen
Baird, Library Journal (starred review)
"Historically detailed and multilayered.... With scintillating
visual details of gorgeous palaces, rich temples, and the famous
library of Alexandria, [Cleopatra's Shadows]evok[es] a world in
which the ancient heroes Alexander and Odysseus-and Greek tragic
characters such as Antigone-come to life.... Holleman's
imaginative, textured portraits of the lives and ambitions of these
little-known heroines will appeal to readers of historical and
literary fiction alike."--Publishers Weekly
"Holleman artfully depicts real women of the ancient world, who
used their own wits and wiles to maneuver among the most brilliant
men of their age.... A triumphantly fresh tale for historians and
casual fans alike."--Carly Silver, ancienthistory.com
"Holleman break[s] free of the clichés dogging the last great
pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, the better to see her fresh....
[Arsinoe and Berenice] could easily give the women of Game of
Thrones a run for their money."--Alexandra Schwartz, Salon
"Holleman brings Alexandria to beautiful, spirited and, at times,
tragic, life."--Mickey McAlary, Brooklyn Magazine
"Holleman richly resuscitates this ancient world of danger,
illuminating the lives of the women of one extraordinary lineage
and their audacious, overt scrambles towards power."--Kara Cooney,
author of The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power
in Ancient Egypt
"Readers will sympathize with Berenice as she battles formidable
odds.... Holleman succeeds in teasing vivid throughlines from an
incredibly complex period.... Her language, anachronism-free,
artfully captures the matrix of myth and epic which nurtures and
inspires her characters. A high-stakes family drama."--Kirkus
Reviews
"Riveting."--Steph Opitz, Marie Claire
"The rich, exotic world created by Emily Holleman in her debut
novel, CLEOPATRA'S SHADOWS, is mesmerizing. Intrigue, betrayal and
the near-destruction of a dynasty follow in the footsteps of
Cleopatra's little-known, but ambitious sisters, Arsinoe and
Berenice. A perfect marriage of dedicated research and passionately
inventive story telling."--Kathleen Kent, author of The
Outcasts
"The story of Cleopatra has been told many times over, in many
different ways, though there's a certain consistency to the tale's
key elements - the seductiveness, the asp, the sultry kohl
eyeliner.... Holleman break[s] free of the clichés dogging the last
great pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, the better to see her fresh....
Arsinoe and Berenice might be confined to the shadows of history,
but here they are squarely in the limelight, powerful protagonists
of their own dramas. They could easily give the women of Game of
Thrones a run for their money."--Alexandra Schwartz, Salon
"These characters lived and breathed their lives beyond the page
and I could feel them in the room with me. Evocative, immersive and
engrossing. I truly loved it."--Elizabeth Chadwick, author of The
Summer Queen
"This historically detailed exploration of life on the Nile during
the Ptolemy dynasty feels like a breath of fresh air after the
'Downton'-inspired wave of 20th-century historical fiction. Fans of
Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles should take note."--BookPage
"Vivid [and] page-turning."--Redbook
"We forget that Cleopatra was a Macedonian, her royal house a relic
of the career of Alexander the Great. Where Cleopatra went to bed
with Rome, her half-sister Berenice, at nineteen, tried to hold the
Egyptian throne against it, while her sister Arsinoe, still a
child, fought to hang on in the margins. Prophetic dreams, fraying
family bonds, and desperate development of strength in crisis
define this affecting work of historical fiction."--Zachary Mason,
author of The Lost Books of the Odyssey
"Women have, throughout history, been secondary-often recorded (if
at all) as complementary, or as muse to man's genius. But now, as
modern societies are re-appraising the value of women, so too are
books evolving to match. Readers are pulled into worlds previously
closed off-full of tenacity, adventure, and scandal-page-turning,
yes, but real.Cleopatra's Shadows reimagines Cleopatra's history
through the perspective of her younger sister Arsinoe. We want
these stories more than ever."--Meredith Turits, Vanity Fair
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