Megan Senske
October 22, 2002
Honors Cleopatra 141
Fiction Report
I. Complete Bibliographical Reference
Mundy, Talbot. Queen Cleopatra. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, New York,
NY: 1929.
II. Brief Biographical Sketch of the Author
Talbot Mundy was born William Lancaster Gribbon on April 23, 1879
in London, England. He lived a life of a soap opera character. He
attended the Rugby School in Warwickshire from 1893-1895. From 1896-1899
Mundy traveled and farmed. From 1899 to 1902 he took on administrative
duties in India and then took on more administrative duties in Africa
from 1903-1908, where he was twice imprisoned. Mundy became a full
time writer in 1911 and he wrote 38 fantasy novels and 4 short stories.
Some of his works appear under the name Walter Galt. He married
Kathleen Steele in 1903 and divorced her in 1908. He married Inex
Craven from 1908-1912, then married Harriette Rosemarry Strafer
from 1913-1924, then married Sally Ames from 1924-1931 and lastly
married Theda Allen Webber in 1931. Talbot was granted US citizenship
in 1917 and died on August 5, 1940.
III. Brief Account of Historical/Cultural Background of the Work
The book Queen Cleopatra was published in 1929, which means that
Mundy wrote the book during the earlier 1920's. This time in America
was a time of prosperity and change. The United States won World
War I in the late 1910's and Americans were living well by borrowing
money and being materialistic. In the 1920's women were becoming
sexier which was shown by the introduction of flappers- woman that
went against the norm by cutting their hair short and wearing more
risqué clothing. This new breed of women influences Mundy's
story about Cleopatra because she is shown as a woman who uses her
body and is able to get what she wants by using it.
IV. The Principal Sources Used or Traditions Followed
The principal sources are Plutarch and Shakespeare. There are some
differences in Mundy's work though. Cleopatra and Antony meet when
Cleopatra goes to Rome, while she is still involved with Caesar.
In Plutarch and Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra did not meet until
after Cleopatra left Rome, which was after Caesar's death.
V. A Summary of the Plot or Thesis
The book covers mainly the time that Cleopatra knew Caesar. The
book begins with Caesars defeat of Pompey and the Civil War going
on between Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy. Cleopatra flees to
Pelusiam and only decides to come back to Egypt in order to plead
to Caesar why she should be ruler of Egypt. Shortly after returning,
Cleopatra and Caesar start up a romance, which is not hidden from
the public.
With Cleopatra's growing power, she supplies Caesar with money and
supplies in order to help him with his battles and his goal to conquer
more land. After spending a year in Egypt and impregnating Cleopatra,
Caesar decides it is time to go back to Rome. Cleopatra lets him
go, but follows him to Rome a year later with her entourage and
her son Caesarion.
Cleopatra is in Rome when Caesar is offered the crown and refuses
it. She meets Antony multiple times and is a witness to his gluttony
and constant drinking. The book ends with Caesar being killed and
Cleopatra going back to Egypt.
VI. Evaluation of the Historical/Cultural Accuracy
Mundy made this novel part fiction, part fact. Cleopatra meets Caesar
when Apollodorus wraps Cleopatra in a rug and carries her to Caesar.
Cleopatra and Caesar have a hot romance which produces a son, Caesarion.
Caesar is killed in Rome when some of the Senators, including his
own son Brutus, stab him to death.
Yet the book only depicts Cleopatra having one personal servant,
Charmian, and does not include Iras, her other personal servant,
both whom died with her. The book says that Apollodorus and Cleopatra
were lovers at one time and Antony and Cleopatra meet while Cleopatra
was in Rome visiting Caesar.
VII. Characterization of the Portrait of Cleopatra
Cleopatra is portrayed as a strong, smart, and sexy woman who knows
what she wants and how to get it. She matches Caesar exactly, proving
to him that she is his intellectual equivalent. Even though they
both fall in love with each other, Cleopatra never loses sight of
what she wants or how to get it. Even though Cleopatra is surrounded
by many friends and scholars (Apollodorus, Troy, Charmion, and Olympus)
she comes up with most of the plans and tactics that she uses.
VIII. Representative Passage Illustrating the Above
"She [Cleopatra] was dazzled and delighted by the brilliance
of the only man [Caesar] she has met who could hold his own in conversation
with him. But unlike him, she never for a moment lost sight of her
purpose, to preserve her own throne and to save the Land of Khem
from coming under Roman rule - while revealing herself and her mental
processes to Caesar with a candor and charm that thrilled even his
cynical and experienced nature. He almost forgot in those days that
Rome existed. Cleopatra forgot nothing. Rome, and the need to checkmate
Rome, was foremost in her thought." (Mundy, 187)
"Cleopatra was the only being in the world whom he [Caesar]
regarded as his equal or as able to match minds with him. Excepting
her, he knew he was superior to any one on earth." (Mundy,
395)
IX. Overall Evaluation as a Work of History
This book gives a good idea of what might have happened between
Cleopatra and Caesar. Mundy mixes facts with his ideas of the truth
and puts them together in a book that might satiate ones desires
to see what parts of the book are true and what parts are exaggerations.
His portrayals of all the main characters are parallel to what we
learned about them in the student reports.
X. Overall Evaluation as a Work of Art/Literature
Though I mainly dreaded every time I picked up the book and knew
I had to read some more, there were a select few times when I actually
didn't want to put it down. Mundy had long passages of unimportant
details and facts that put me to sleep. Although Mundy informs us
that Cleopatra is a temptress, he leaves out all the details and
makes even the romance between Caesar and Cleopatra boring. But
I will praise him for his character portrayals. Cleopatra didn't
sound overly beautiful, but she used what God gave her to the best
of her ability.
Overall, it was a boring book, but it appeared to stick mainly to
the truth.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/7656/mundybio.html
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