A re examination of the tumultuous period when Cleopatra and her sisters Berenike and Arsinoe all took turns ruling Egypt.

A dramatic political, cultural and social historical narrative of the period 60-40 BCE in Egypt and Rome, and the three sister queens each seeking power for themselves during this time: Cleopatra, Berenike (executed by their father) and Arsinoe (murdered at sister Cleopatra's request).

Fatal Monsters approaches the three sister queens equally, rather than simply privileging Cleopatra, and examines them in the correct historical and archaeological context, not just through Roman eyes but also Greek and Egyptian ones. This story, the story of three sister queens and the sibling rivalry that brought down a 300-year-old dynasty, has yet to be told.

Details

ISBN13: 9781805465508
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 272
Edition: Export/Airside
Publication Date: 03 Nov 2026
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.6(L)
Weight (gm):

Author Biography

Jane Draycott is a historian and archaeologist, and the author of Fulvia and Cleopatra's Daughter. She is currently Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Glasgow and co-director of the University of Glasgow's Games and Gaming Lab.

Reviews

An important corrective to all the old cliches about female power in the classical world * Mail on Sunday *
Fascinating, brilliantly researched, this sweeping, wonderful book brings Cleopatra and her sister queens to vibrant life -- Kate Williams
Jane Draycott shines a refreshing light on this infamous period of Roman and Egyptian history, putting Cleopatra AND her sisters into the spotlight. The result is a gripping human story of familial love and conflict, set in the context of seismic political, military and social change. You won't look at this fascinating era of the past in the same way again! -- Professor Michael Scott
An utterly compulsive (ancient) family saga. The narrative is at once brilliantly researched and insightful, and novelistic in scope -- Natasha Solomons, author of CLEOPATRA
Jane Draycott delves into the history of that most famous ruler of Egypt - Cleopatra VII - this time within the context of her contentious Ptolemaic family, painting a vivid picture of competition, betrayal and assassination -- Kara Cooney, author of WHEN WOMEN RULED THE WORLD: SIX QUEENS OF EGYPT
Draycott tells how Cleopatra, Berenike, and Arsinoe reigned - and wrangled with Rome - during two decades of political upheavals that demolished the Republic and the last Egyptian dynasty. Bringing Cleopatra's sisters out of the shadows makes Fatal Monsters a compelling new history of a tumultuous time -- Adrienne Mayor, author of GODS AND ROBOTS
Light and thorough, wide-reaching and focused, entertaining but not sensationalist * Financial Times on FULVIA *
Makes a persuasive case that, in the Roman Republic, any woman who dared do things differently was virtually certain of going down in history as an evil femme fatale * Mail on Sunday on FULVIA *