Cleopatra's Vendetta

Cleopatra's Vendetta

Author: Avanti Centrae

Publisher: Thunder Creek Press

Published: 2022-11-15

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13:

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DA VINCI CODE meets MISSION IMPOSSIBLE in this multi-award-winning standalone thriller from international bestselling author Avanti Centrae. It's a fast-paced bombshell of a story about royal secrets and epic lies. Born a goddess, Cleopatra died a prisoner. But the cobra's deadly kiss was just the beginning... Global Thriller First Place Winner — Chanticleer International Book Awards Runner Up — Paris Book Festival Bari, Italy, present day. Think tank Special Ops leader Timothy Stryker and his wife Angie, a self-made CEO, haven’t exactly been seeing eye-to-eye. They take a much-needed Italian holiday, but it comes to a shocking end when Angie and their daughter are kidnapped. Still raw from the death of their infant son, Stryker is desperate to rescue Angie and reconcile their differences. As he works to locate the captors’ lair, he discovers the kidnappers are behind a string of recent assassinations and attempting another high-profile hit in only seven days. But when he learns their plans for his only remaining child, the scab on his heart tears open and blood begins to spill. Working from inside her brutal captors’ high-security compound, Angie realizes the cabal is hiding an ancient secret using modern propaganda techniques. And as Stryker races hitmen across India, Egypt, and Greece to thwart the next assassination and save his family, he has to connect a series of deadly dots tracing all the way back to the time of Cleopatra. Ultimately, the estranged pair must shake the deeply buried pillars of western civilization to save their four-year-old daughter from an unspeakable fate. Fascinating, provocative, original, and timely, Cleopatra's Vendetta is a sizzling novel that paints a disturbing picture of some of the most intricate issues that have plagued humanity’s past…challenges that color our days and provide the blueprint for our future. “Action, adventure, and suspense! A juicy thriller.” —Robert Dugoni, New York Times & International bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite Series "A fascinating look at the 2000-year culture clash between male and female power systems." —Katherine Neville, New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Internationally bestselling author “Race-against-time, action-packed adventure. This is a thriller that will captivate its audience from the first page.” —Manhattan Book Review "An adventure that will appeal to fans of Dan Brown. It's one of those rare birds: a thriller that will have you turning the pages and leave you thinking." —Debbi Mack, New York Times bestselling author of the Sam McRae and Erica Jensen mysteries “If you like your modern global threats to have a dash of ancient mystery and mysticism, you’re going to find yourself with some sleepless nights while reading Cleopatra’s Vendetta.” —Kevin Tumlinson, bestselling and award-winning author of The Coelho Medallion "Dangerous and intoxicating." —Audrey Wilson, screenwriter, producer, and award-winning author of Wrong Girl Gone


Cleopatras

Cleopatras

Author: John Whitehorne

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-03-11

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1134932162

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Although there are many books written about the most famous Cleopatra, this is the only study in English devoted to her less well-known but equally illustrious namesakes. Cleopatras traces the turbulent lives and careers of these historically important women, examining in particular the earlier Macedonian and Ptolemaic Cleopatras, and the impact of their dynastic marriages on the history of the Hellenistic world. John Whitehorne also evaluates current views of Cleopatra VII's dramatic suicide, and considers the evolving political significance of royal women in the last three centuries BC. Clearly and engagingly written, Cleopatras reveals the true significance to the ruling dynasties of the 34 known Cleopatras who were not Cleopatra the Great, and illuminates some fascinating but little-known aspects of ancient Greek and Egyptian history along the way.


Cleopatra's Handmaiden

Cleopatra's Handmaiden

Author: StoryBuddiesPlay

Publisher: StoryBuddiesPlay

Published: 2024-05-20

Total Pages: 73

ISBN-13:

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Delve into the heart of ancient Egypt with "The Handmaiden's Deception," a captivating historical fiction novel that weaves a tale of loyalty, betrayal, and forbidden love. Step into the opulent palace walls and witness the treacherous world of courtly intrigue through the eyes of Nefertari, a handmaiden caught in a web of political machinations. As Nefertari serves the enigmatic Queen Cleopatra, she finds herself torn between her unwavering loyalty and a growing affection for Marcus Antonius, a Roman envoy sent to negotiate a fragile peace. When a hidden chamber unveils a potential plot against the queen, Nefertari is thrust into a perilous game. Should she expose the truth, risking Cleopatra's wrath and jeopardizing her position? Or should she remain silent, allowing a web of deceit to ensnare both Egypt and Rome? Unraveling secrets and navigating forbidden alliances, Nefertari finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew. Is the ruthless queen she serves truly deserving of her devotion? Is the charming Roman envoy hiding his own motives? As the line between loyalty and rebellion blurs, Nefertari must make a choice that could rewrite the fate of nations. "The Handmaiden's Deception" offers a thrilling journey through ancient Egypt, perfect for readers who enjoy historical fiction with a touch of romance and suspense. Get swept away by a captivating narrative filled with unforgettable characters, palace intrigue, and a fight for truth in a world of deceit.


The Herods

The Herods

Author: Bruce Chilton

Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers

Published: 2021-08-03

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 1506474284

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The Herods explores the Herodian rule from Herod the Great's father, Antipater, until the dynastic sunset with Bereniké, Herod's great-granddaughter, describing the theocratic aims that motivated Herod and his progeny, and the groups and factions within Judaism and Christianity that often defined themselves in opposition to the Herodian project.


Cleopatra

Cleopatra

Author: Stacy Schiff

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2010-11-01

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 0316121800

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The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world: Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt. Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious sister as well; incest and assassination were family specialties. Cleopatra appears to have had sex with only two men. They happen, however, to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, among the most prominent Romans of the day. Both were married to other women. Cleopatra had a child with Caesar and -- after his murder -- three more with his protégé. Already she was the wealthiest ruler in the Mediterranean; the relationship with Antony confirmed her status as the most influential woman of the age. The two would together attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spelled their ends. Cleopatra has lodged herself in our imaginations ever since. Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Shakespeare and Shaw put words in her mouth. Michelangelo, Tiepolo, and Elizabeth Taylor put a face to her name. Along the way, Cleopatra's supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. 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. Rich in detail, epic in scope, Schiff 's is a luminous, deeply original reconstruction of a dazzling life.


Riccardo Freda

Riccardo Freda

Author: Roberto Curti

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2017-03-21

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 1476628386

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In an eclectic career spanning four decades, Italian director Riccardo Freda (1909-1999) produced films of remarkable technical skill and powerful visual style, including the swashbuckler Black Eagle (1946), an adaptation of Les Miserables (1947), the peplum Theodora, Slave Empress (1954) and a number of cult-favorite Gothic and horror films such as I Vampiri (1957), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962) and The Ghost (1963). Freda was first championed in the 1960s by French critics who labeled him "the European Raoul Walsh," and enjoyed growing critical esteem over the years. This book covers his life and career for the first time in English, with detailed analyses of his films and exclusive interviews with his collaborators and family.


The Epic Film

The Epic Film

Author: Derek Elley

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-12-04

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1317928881

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As Charlton Heston put it: ‘There’s a temptingly simple definition of the epic film: it’s the easiest kind of picture to make badly.’ This book goes beyond that definition to show how the film epic has taken up one of the most ancient art-forms and propelled it into the modern world, covered in twentieth-century ambitions, anxieties, hopes and fantasies. This survey of historical epic films dealing with periods up to the end of the Dark Ages looks at epic form and discusses the films by historical period, showing how the cinema reworks history for the changing needs of its audience, much as the ancient mythographers did. The form’s main aim has always been to entertain, and Derek Elley reminds us of the glee with which many epic films have worn their label, and of the sheer fun of the genre. He shows the many levels on which these films can work, from the most popular to the specialist, each providing a considerable source of enjoyment. For instance, spectacle, the genre’s most characteristic trademark, is merely the cinema’s own transformation of the literary epic’s taste for the grandiose. Dramatically it can serve many purposes: as a resolution of personal tensions (the chariot race in Ben-Hur), of monotheism vs idolatry (Solomon and Sheba), or of the triumph of a religious code (The Ten Commandments). Although to many people Epic equals Hollywood, throughout the book Elley stresses debt to the Italian epics, which often explored areas of history with which Hollywood could never have found sympathy. Originally published 1984.


Women and Monarchy in Macedonia

Women and Monarchy in Macedonia

Author: Elizabeth Donnelly Carney

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 9780806132129

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In this groundbreaking work, Elizabeth Donnelly Carney examines the role of royal women in the Macedonian Argead dynasty from the sixth century B.C. to 168 B.C. Women were excluded from the exercise of power in most of the Hellenic world. However, Carney shows that the wives, mothers, and daughters of kings sometimes played important roles in Macedonian public life and occasionally determined the course of national events. Carney assembles an exhaustive array of evidence on the political role of Argead royal women. In addition, she presents a series of biographical sketches describing the public careers of all the royal women -- including Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great, and the warrior Cynnane, his half-sister -- whose names are preserved in ancient sources. Women and Monarchy in Macedonia fills a growing need for an updated survey of the subject, corrects previously held assumptions, and offers a fresh interpretation of the status, function, influence, and authority of women in the ancient world.