When We Were Gods — Colin Falconer

Arrestingly beautiful and fiercely intelligent, Cleopatra VII of Egypt was barely more than a teenager when she inherited the richest empire in the world -- one that stretched from the scorching deserts of lower Egypt to the shining Mediterranean metropolis of Alexandria. Imperiled at every turn by court conspiracies and Roman treachery, Cleopatra brazenly sought a partnership with the only man who could secure Egypt's safety: Julius Caesar, a wily politician and battle-hardened general with a weakness for women. The result was a passionate love affair that scandalized Rome and thrust Cleopatra into the glittering but deadly world of imperial intrigue and warfare -- a world that she would mesmerize and manipulate even after Caesar was gone.

Colin Falconer takes the reader, inside the walls of Alexandria's great palaces and into Cleopatra's very heart, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman who thrived and triumphed in a world ruled by men. This is the glorious story of a legendary woman, a story that blazes through thousands of years of history to capture the imagination of readers today.