Cleopatra: Being an Account of the Fall and Vengeance of Harmachis is an adventure novel written by English author H. Rider Haggard and first printed in 1889 by Longmans. Cleopatra mixes historical action with supernatural events, and could be described as a historical fantasy novel.[1]
The story is set in the Ptolemaic era of Ancient Egyptian history and revolves around the survival of a dynasty bloodline protected by the Priesthood of Isis. The main character Harmachis (the living descendant of the pharaoh's bloodline) is charged by the Priesthood to overthrow the supposed impostor Cleopatra, drive out the Greeks and Romans and restore Egypt to its golden era. Harmachis attempts to use his priestly magic to undermine Cleopatra's rule.[1]
As is the case with the majority of Haggard's works,[citation needed] the story draws heavily upon adventure and exotic concepts. The story, told from the point of view of the Egyptian priest Harmachis, is recounted in biblical language, being in the form of papyrus scrolls found in a tomb.
Receptionedit
Boucher and McComas gave the novel a mixed review, saying that it combined "a not always believable portrait" of its title heroine with a "fascinating, wholly convincing" story line.[2] Curtis C. Smith described Cleopatra as "one of Haggard's best works, particularly for those modern readers who may find the implied defenses of colonialism in the Allan Quatermain and She series difficult to take."[1] Smith added "Haggard's originality is to side with this indigenous culture against the Ptolemies and the Roman imperialists who threaten Egypt."[1] John Scarborough included Cleopatra on a list of what he regarded as Haggard's best novels, along with King Solomon's Mines, She: A History of Adventure, Nada the Lily, Red Eve, and Eric Brighteyes.[3]
^ abcdSmith, Curtish C. "H. Rider Haggard." In E. F. Bleiler, ed. Supernatural Fiction Writers. New York: Scribner's, 1985. ISBN0-684-17808-7 (pp.321-328).
^"Recommended Reading," F&SF, September 1953, p. 100.
^Scarborough, John. "H. Rider Haggard". In Bleiler, Richard, Science Fiction Writers : critical studies of the major authors from the early nineteenth century to the present day. New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. ISBN9780684805931 (pp. 323-329)
Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers. p. 112.
cleopatra, haggard, novel, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, artic. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Cleopatra Haggard novel news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2011 Learn how and when to remove this message This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed January 2011 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Cleopatra Being an Account of the Fall and Vengeance of Harmachis is an adventure novel written by English author H Rider Haggard and first printed in 1889 by Longmans Cleopatra mixes historical action with supernatural events and could be described as a historical fantasy novel 1 CleopatraCover of the first editionAuthorH Rider HaggardCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishGenreAdventure novelPublisherLongmansPublication date1889Media typePrint Hardback Pages316 ppISBN1 55521 122 4OCLC16862670TextCleopatra at Wikisource Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Reception 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksSynopsis editThe story is set in the Ptolemaic era of Ancient Egyptian history and revolves around the survival of a dynasty bloodline protected by the Priesthood of Isis The main character Harmachis the living descendant of the pharaoh s bloodline is charged by the Priesthood to overthrow the supposed impostor Cleopatra drive out the Greeks and Romans and restore Egypt to its golden era Harmachis attempts to use his priestly magic to undermine Cleopatra s rule 1 As is the case with the majority of Haggard s works citation needed the story draws heavily upon adventure and exotic concepts The story told from the point of view of the Egyptian priest Harmachis is recounted in biblical language being in the form of papyrus scrolls found in a tomb Reception editBoucher and McComas gave the novel a mixed review saying that it combined a not always believable portrait of its title heroine with a fascinating wholly convincing story line 2 Curtis C Smith described Cleopatra as one of Haggard s best works particularly for those modern readers who may find the implied defenses of colonialism in the Allan Quatermain and She series difficult to take 1 Smith added Haggard s originality is to side with this indigenous culture against the Ptolemies and the Roman imperialists who threaten Egypt 1 John Scarborough included Cleopatra on a list of what he regarded as Haggard s best novels along with King Solomon s Mines She A History of Adventure Nada the Lily Red Eve and Eric Brighteyes 3 See also edit nbsp Novels portal Harmachis Cleopatra a 1917 film based on the novelReferences edit a b c d Smith Curtish C H Rider Haggard In E F Bleiler ed Supernatural Fiction Writers New York Scribner s 1985 ISBN 0 684 17808 7 pp 321 328 Recommended Reading F amp SF September 1953 p 100 Scarborough John H Rider Haggard In Bleiler Richard Science Fiction Writers critical studies of the major authors from the early nineteenth century to the present day New York Charles Scribner s Sons 1999 ISBN 9780684805931 pp 323 329 Bleiler Everett 1948 The Checklist of Fantastic Literature Chicago Shasta Publishers p 112 External links editCleopatra at Standard Ebooks Cleopatra at Project Gutenberg Images and bibliographic information for various editions of Cleopatra at SouthAfricaBooks com nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Cleopatra Haggard nbsp This article about a historical novel of the 1880s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cleopatra Haggard novel amp oldid 1164841535, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
