Sarah Insley
Honors 141
November 5, 2002
Fiction Report
I. Complete Bibliographical Reference
Tarr, Judith. Throne of Isis: A Novel of Cleopatra. New York:
Tom Doherty Associates, Inc., 1994.
II. Brief Biographical Sketch of the Author
Judith Tarr was born in Augusta, Maine on January 30, 1955 to Earle
A., Jr. and Regina Gallagher Tarr. Her father worked as a waterworks
manager and real estate salesman while her mother was a teacher.
Judith valued her education, acquiring six different degrees, including
a Ph. D. in Medieval Studies from Yale University. The many degrees
included an A.B. from Mount Holyoke College (1976); both a BA(1978)
and a MA in History (1983) from Newnham College, Cambridge; and
finally a MA (1979), a M.Philosophy (1983), and a Ph.D. (1988) from
Yale University. Following her mother's example, she worked as a
teacher, from1979-1981 at Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine.
There she taught Latin before deciding to launch her writing career
in 1985. Tarr did not stop teaching, however, and became a visiting
lecturer in liberal studies and visiting writer from 1989-1992 at
Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, as well as a visiting assistant
professor of classics (1990-1992). She has more than a dozen novels
to her credit, in which she uses her academic background to add
depth and realism to the plotlines. All her novels to date use historical
characters, settings, or prototypes; she is therefore, in my opinion,
one of the most convincing historical fiction writers of this time
period.
III. Brief Account of Historical/Cultural Background of Work
The Throne of Isis, published in 1994, was not written as a reflection
of the times' events, but as a reflection of the popularity of accurate
historical fiction with the American public. At this time the best
sellers like Danielle Steele, Tom Clancy, John Grisham, Steven King,
and even Michael Crichton were producing fact-based historical fiction
novels on topics for which they were experts. The public started
to demand more novels of this genre from the literary pool, therefore,
bringing about novels like The Throne of Isis.
IV. The Principal Sources Used and the Traditions Followed
The principal sources used are Plutarch's Roman Lives, Cleopatra
by Michael Grant, Seutonius' Lives of the Caesars, and Lucy Hughes-Hallett's
Cleopatra: Histories, Dreams and Distortions. In addition, Tarr's
background in the classics helps her put a human spin on the research
she obtains, thereby maintaining the personal stories that make
her novel enjoyable.
V. A Summary of the Plot or Thesis
The story begins after the death of Caesar and is continued largely
through the eyes of Cleopatra's priestess and friend, the fictional
Dione, until the queen's suicide following her defeat at the Battle
of Actium. The book is divided into five acts, each act covering
a place and a time period in which Tarr discusses the events of
both Cleopatra's and Dione's lives. The first act begins with the
queen's trip to Tarsus to see Antony, marking the start of their
political and personal relationship. Act two involves Antony's trip
to Alexandria, Cleopatra's pregnancy and birth of her twins, and
the growing relationships between Dione and Lucius Servilius, Antony's
augur and close confidant, as well as that between Antony and Cleopatra.
Act three discusses the increasingly chaotic politics of the time
and ends with the marriage of Lucius and Dione. Act four focuses
on Dione's personal life as she gives birth to a baby girl and leaves
the ostentation and noise of her queen's court to become simply
a wife and mother. At this point, Antony and Cleopatra are in Greece
and the political scene is almost at a climax. The final act involves
the battle of Actium and the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra
dies, by the bite of an asp, and Dione and Lucius reconnect after
a separation and tearfully end the novel with a reassertion of their
love for each other. The last eighty pages of the book spans the
length of one year, but Tarr does so effectively without losing
sight of the entire novel and all its intricate story lines.
VI. Evaluation of Historical/Cultural Accuracy
Tarr bases her writing on thorough research and a background in
classics. The plot sticks predominantly to the actual events of
the time period with a few additional fictional characters to add
a more human aspect to the story. The major events, battles, and
associations are accounted for, including the intense political
relationship between Antony and Cleopatra. In addition, Tarr acknowledges
all sources of her information in her Author's Note, thereby proving
the credibility of her work as a historical fiction. For example,
she states in the author's note that Charmion's last words are a
direct translation from Plutarch's Life of Antony (pg. 348), and
that Lucius Servilius the augur and Dione the priestess were added
for fictional purposes. By clearly indicating her sources and the
fictional aspects of her novel, she alleviates the burden of guess-work
from the readers' shoulders and paints a largely accurate picture.
Her background in classics also allows her to accurately portray
both Roman and Egyptian societies through the people themselves
and their interactions with their environments. Judith Tarr knows
her topic and it shows in her literature.
VII. Characterization of the Portrait of Cleopatra
Cleopatra is portrayed as a cool cunning queen of much wisdom even
at the age of 28, when the story begins. She is shown as an intelligent
woman knowledgeable of 11 languages, including Hebrew and Egyptian,
and capable of outwitting many, including the Roman general to whom
she gives her heart. She is not portrayed as beautiful; in fact
there are many occurrences where Tarr admits that she is not beautiful
in face, but rather in voice and in manner. This accurate depiction
of Cleopatra only adds to the superior quality of this novel.
VIII. Representative Passage Illustrating the Above
"Antony laughed, a rumble in his throat. 'Unique, more like.
She's as plain as a post, you know. Beak of a nose. Chin that goes
halfway to meet it. But let her move or open her mouth, or bring
those big brown eyes to bear, and she could be a black Fury for
all you care what her face is. She's better than beautiful. She's
interesting.'" (pg. 35)
IX. Overall Evaluation as a Work of History
This book represents a largely accurate account of the historical
events and relationships in Cleopatra's life. It is clear that the
author knew the information and conveyed it in a manner conducive
to pleasure reading. It is not a history book, but its contents
maintain a degree of accuracy, and those contents and characters
that are purely fictional are pointed out in her Note at the end
of the novel. Tarr's depiction of the non-fictional characters in
the novel also closely follows the information we shared in our
student reports.
X. Overall Evaluation as a Work of Art/Literature
This was a carefully researched, well written, and charming novel
about Antony and Cleopatra. Tarr not only explains the political
relationship between Egypt and Rome, but she also never loses sight
of the human side of the story. The love stories between both Dione
and Lucius and Cleopatra and Antony are just as touching and intriguing
as are the accounts of the military's actions and campaigns. I enjoyed
reading this novel and I would recommend it to a friend if for no
other reason than a good read.
Bibliography
Gale Literary Databases, Contemporary Authors. Gale Group, Thomson
Corporation Company; 10/22/2002. 11/4/02 <http://ezproxy.rmc.edu:2158/servlet/GLD/hits?c=1&secondary
=false&origSearch=true&u=CA&t=KW&s=2&r=d&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&locID=vic_randolph&NA=Tarr%2C+Judith>
Scott, Whitney. "Book Review of Throne of Isis." Booklist
v90 (April 15, 1994): p1516 (1).