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Michelle Orton November 18, 2002
Honors 141
Outline for Fiction Report
I. Complete bibliographical reference Falconer, Colin. When We
Were Gods. New York: Crown Publishers, 2000.
II. Brief biographical sketch of the author Source: Contemporary
Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2001. Colin Falconer was born in
North London on May 20,1953. When he first began writing in the
80's he worked as a free lance journalist in order to pay the bills,
but after the success of his first novel he became a full time novelist.
He is now married and has two daughters. He is currently living
in Southwest Australia and he enjoys scuba diving and traveling.
He has previously written 3 other historical fiction novels as well
as about a dozen other books. His latest book came out this year
titled Feathered Serpent, it is a historical fiction novel about
an Aztec woman and Hernán Cortés.
III. Brief account of historical/cultural background of the work
This book was published in the year 2000, meaning it was written
about 1998-1999. This was right after the time that Cleopatra's
Palace was discovered and all the excavations were going on in Alexandria.
Since that discovery and excavation there was a lot of interest
in Egyptian style and things dealing with that area especially how
they were under the pharaohs. In the year 1999 the movie The Mummy
was released and in 2001 The Mummy Returns, which shows the interest
in pop culture of all things Egyptian.
IV. The principal sources used or traditions followed In the beginning
of the book Falconer acknowledges all the help he had in finding
the necessary sources to write his novel but he never lists the
works that he actually uses. The only author he mentions is Michael
Haag for his insight into Alexandria.
V. A summary of the plot or thesis The book is written through the
eyes of Cleopatra herself. We first see Cleopatra as a 18 year old
girl that has to face the harsh reality of life in the Egyptian
Court without the protection of her father. Things become so heated
at home that she is forced to flee from Alexandria in fear for her
life and spends the next long while in a desert camp. While at the
camp she keeps abreast of the situation in Alexandria as well as
with what Caesar is and is planning to do. She also procures the
advice of a former prostitute in the art of love so that when she
goes to meet Caesar she will be in power. However, things don't
actually turn out the way Cleopatra wants because when she is delivered
to Caesar in the carpet she is unconscious and that ruined her well
laid plans. Together Cleopatra and Caesar beat her brother and they
become co-rulers of Egypt. She becomes pregnant with Caesar's child
and makes grand plans of marriage to unite the two countries and
make her son King of Rome. Needless to say that never happened because
Caesar was murdered and Cleopatra was left with another mess on
her hands. After Caesar's death Cleopatra tries to recreate their
relationship with Mark Antony but it just isn't the same. Mark Antony
is a drunken slob, that, although he has a few good moments, he
wasn't strong enough to do what needed to bee done, he was too interested
in his own pleasures. In the end they both end up killing themselves.
The very last part of the book is in 1998 and it gives a review
of how everything turned out in the end.
VI. Evaluation of the historical/cultural accuracy I found this
book to be very accurate in historical and cultural accuracy. Major
characters were added around the main characters; for example in
the book Cleopatra has a eunuch tutor turned advisor named Mardian.
Also in this novel Apollodorus is not her slave but a merchant brother-in-law
to Mardian that helps to gather information and does do some special
jobs for Cleopatra: for example, he is the person that smuggles
her into the palace in a carpet. Basically, the addition of major
characters are the only discrepancies, they were changed to add
more meat to the plot.
VII. Characterization of the portrait of Cleopatra We see Cleopatra
as a very capable girl who although is thrown into a horrible situation
at a young age is strong and determined to succeed. Through the
book we get a very good idea of her character, her strengths and
uncertainties. We see her as a great political leader, extremely
intelligent, shrewd and loyal to her people. She realizes the importance
of her place in history and makes sure that the show is good. As
you read this book we see how far Cleopatra would go to get what
she wants and she feels should belong to her because she has three
people murdered to do it. We see how she wants to be a good mother
and would do anything for her children.
VIII. Representative passage illustrating the above "She lay
awake, debating with herself whether Caesar's compromise was really
so bad. After all, it was more than she could ever have hoped for
when she took the throne. Caesar, King of the Roman Empire, and
a husband of the Queen of Egypt. It would mean peace for her country,
a throne secured for Caesarion.
IX. Overall evaluation as a work of history As a work of history
I thought that it was very accurate based on the information that
we have gathered from the class. There were changes made in some
of the situations and characters but the major people were the same
and all the major events of Cleopatra's life were included on the
book. There were added fictional scenes throughout the novel and
also a few romance scenes. Overall I felt that it was a very good
work of Historical fiction because it gave all the facts and ideas
and managed to keep a very interesting story.
X. Overall evaluation as a work of art/literature I really enjoyed
this book. There were slow points, especially at the beginning of
the novel but once the action really started the book stayed good
to the end. Although there were some rather graphic scenes throughout
the novel they weren't horrible. I definitely would recommend this
book to people or suggest reading others written by Colin Falconer.