Tyldesley’s Cleopatra
The life of Cleopatra has interested historians for over 2000 years and the puzzle still is not complete. One aspect that has been of personal interest is the relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar. This explains why after reading Joyce A. Tyldesley’s novel, Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, the chapter that stood out most was chapter four; Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. This chapter follows a pattern that makes it easy to follow the sources used and figure out the authors purpose of writing. For a reader to figure this out it is important to look at the qualities the author provides when writing and the techniques she uses with sourcing. These factors are great contributors when determine whether or not an author has wrote a useful novel. Through the eyes of Tyldesley, Cleopatra and Caesar had a very strategic and complicated relationship. It is clear that strategy is what brings them together when instead of annexing Egypt; Caesar ensures “Cleopatra was reinstated on her throne” (Tyldesley, 97). The reinstatement gives the impression that Cleopatra had selfish intentions in mind when seeking out Caesar. From there the chapter turns to a romantic view of the relationship. Caesar stays in Alexandria for one of two reasons, both involving Cleopatra of course. He either “wished to see her properly settled on her throne” or he just “wished to spend some time with his young mistress” (Tyldesley, 98). It does not matter which reason Caesar stayed for, both reasons Tyldesley gives are based around admiration of Cleopatra. So far in the chapter a reader has seen both sides of the situation. Tyldesley continues this pattern of alternating between roles. She writes about Cleopatra and Caesar sailing down the Nile, “This was a triumphal public display; a calculated political move designed to make the new alliance crystal clear to anyone that mattered” (Tyldesley, 99). Again the idea that strategy is the driving force to this relationship comes up. This is a strong question and it is one that Tyldesley purposely doesn’t answer. This chapter seems to give the information about Caesar and Cleopatra with sources included in a way that the reader is able to create their own answer to this question still pondered by historians. When critiquing an author, it is important to identify the sources used and pay attention to the style that they are used. One recurring source, Lucan, “is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial Latin period” (CC-BY-SA, Web). From this definition it would seem like this is a very reliable source, but Tyldesley warns “his entertaining account needs to be taken with more than the usual pinch of salt” (Tyldesley, 95). She uses Lucan to exemplify how not all sources can be taken seriously; this is why she immediately corrects the quotation. This is a good technique to use when dealing with ancient sources because readers should always be questioning the sources. Tyldesley than shifts her focus to Caesars triumph in the Alexandrian war. The sources she uses to back up her claims are Suetonius, Dio, and Caesar himself. All information given from these three authors is presented as true. Tyldesley presents it and then goes on to explain what was meant rather than trying to prove it as right or wrong. This style of presenting sources gives a reader confidence that the author believes the statement is true and further more adds to what the author is saying. Tyldesley switching between the styles she uses when giving sources works well for the chapter because she presents information that should be questioned before presenting information that she believes is true. All together it makes a good variety and keeps readers on their toes whenever they come to a new source. Because she ensures that some sources are questioned, it allows her to continue switching roles between the romantic and strategic theories when discussing Caesar and Cleopatra’s relationship without contradicting herself. Once Tyldesley’s style of presenting sources is evident, the real issue in the chapter becomes even more obvious. What were Cleopatra’s intentions with the relationship she had created between her and Caesar? Tyldesley’s gives both sides to the argument with multiple examples. She writes how Cleopatra “had everything to gain from the assumption that she was the mother of Caesar’s child” and how she may have been “summoned” to Rome as a captive rather than just wanting to see her lover (Tyldesley, 102 and 104). These statements all suggest that Cleopatra was all about the strategic advantage that came along with Caesar, but Tyldesley also presents the other side of Cleopatra. The romantic side of her visit to Rome is on “her own free will” (Tyldesley, 104). Although she doesn’t give only one opinion, it seems like Tyldesley is a little bias towards the strategic side of this relationship. Whenever she gives both sides of the argument she always leads with the benefits gained by Cleopatra. On top of that, she always has plenty to say about how things favour Cleopatra. After sharing that information, she then adds in a minor sentence about how some people believe it was romantic. When you put together the style in which she writes and uses sources it becomes apparent that she has a slight bias towards Cleopatra having selfish intentions. Since Tyldesley has a bias it would be useful for readers who are interested in viewing Caesar and Cleopatra as a romance to reach out to other sources, but when other sources are found the same problem arises. In Duane W. Roller’s novel Cleopatra he writes the relationship in a similar way. During one sentence he will speak of the relationship as “romantic”, and then in the next line he will go on to “Cleopatra implementing her plan” implying it was all strategy (Roller, 61). After seeking out other sources Tyldesley’s small bias becomes less of an issue because you get the information from both sides just like any other novel provides. Since this novel gives the same quality of information as any other novel on the subject then a reader can deem it as a useful reading. Especially since Tyldesley gives her own opinion of Caesar and Cleopatra without completely disowning the other beliefs. Because of that quality this novel may be even more useful than most and Tyldesley should be viewed as an effective author. After reading the chapter in Joyce A. Tyldesley’s novel many things stood out. The styles she chose to write with and the minor details she included with her evidence helped to distinguish her theme. The importance of determining whether or not she had a bias has also contributed and made the selection stronger. When considering all factors, Tyldesley has proven to be a quality author when writing about Cleopatra and her novel determined useful.

References
CC-BY-SA, “Marcus Annaeus Lucanus”, http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Marcus_Annaeus_Lucanus.html, 3Dec. 2013, Web.
Roller, Duane W. Cleopatra: A Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.
Tyldesley, Joyce A. Cleopatra : Last Queen Of Egypt. London: Profile Books, 2008. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 3 Dec. 2013.