Review of Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen by Jane Draycott

*Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen* by Jane Draycott (2022). Published by Liveright.

When I was a young girl, my mother used to take us to the library every single Friday.

It was our tradition from a young age to pick out our own books to read, and it is what instilled a habit in me to keep reading over twenty years later as an adult.

But when I would wander the children and young adult sections of our library, I certainly found my favorites.

Whether it was Percy Jackson, Geronimo Stilton, or reading manga copies of Naruto in the graphic novel section, I began to find things I loved and kept coming back to.

One of my favorites though was The Royal Diaries series about princesses and remarkable women throughout history, and I’m confident this is what led me to study women’s history as a grad student all these years later.

Ever since reading Cleopatra’s version of her life in the series (fictionalized, of course), I’d been obsessed with her.

So when I was wandering my library recently, I stumbled upon a copy of Cleopatra’s Daughter in the new nonfiction section. It wasn’t really new anymore, it had been out for a year, but I decided to pick it up regardless and see what I could learn about Cleopatra Selene II.

I’ve rambled enough already—let’s get into the review!

The history of Cleopatra Selene II, the daughter of the famous Cleopatra and Antony.

Going into this book, I already knew quite a bit about the lore around Cleopatra and Antony, especially when it came to their little feud with Octavian.

But even if you’re not well adept in Egyptian history and what exactly went down during this period, don’t worry, Draycott definitely has you covered here.

It’s hard to understand the story of Cleopatra Selene II without knowing what happened to her mother, so the first two chapters are really about context.

We go through Cleopatra’s love affairs with Caesar and Antony, and the strategies that led her to eventually kill herself and her maids while under seige from Octavian.

There was no way he was going to kill her, as Cleopatra was well loved by her people, and if he thought about harming a hair on her head, then it would probably lead to the Egyptians getting really upset by the turn of events.

She killed herself in a act of agency, showing how she was going to make her own decisions in the end.

But that left behind four children, one who she had with Caesar, and the other three with Antony. We can safely assume that Cleopatra Selene II was the only one of the four who continued to survive past their mother’s death really.

Her eldest brother, the son of Caesar, was killed by Octavian, although we do not know the methods. Cleopatra Selene’s two brothers disappear from the historical records after the siblings were moved to Rome, which implies that they, too, might’ve met an unfortunate fate.

Cleopatra Selene was destined to survive onwards though. She lived in Rome, and Octavia, Octavian’s sister, would take care of her and her other siblings.

She would arrange for Cleopatra Selene to marry Juba II of Numidia, who had risen to the throne after his father committed suicide. There, Cleopatra Selene would become a strong African ruler, as we see in this text.

They were given Mauretania by Augustus, and Cleopatra Selene would continue to be influenced by her mother and royal Egyptian upbringing throughout her time in the kingdom.

Droycott describes her rule as one of being steadfast, and when she died before her husband, it left a gaping hole to fill in his life.

Overall Thoughts

This was such a fascinating book to read. It took a bit because of the contextual chapters to dig deeper into this young woman’s life, but we have to remember not a ton is dedicated to her life.

We saw how easily her brothers slipped off the historical record, but the fact her own neck was on the line and then she managed to create such an impactful path is quite remarkable, especially considering the period she was living in.

I’m glad I read this book, as I feel more well rounded on the end of the Ptolemy dynasty and Cleopatra’s children rather than just her. Through her surviving child, this is a way her legacy lived on.

Follow me below on Instagram and Goodreads for more.