Alexandria: The Last Night of Cleopatra

By Peter Stothard

When Peter Stothard found himself stranded in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in the winter of 2010, he set out to explore a nation on the brink of revolution. Guided by two native Egyptians, Stothard reawakens his life long obsession with the life and myth of Cleopatra while exploring the city and country she once ruled.
 

Blending aspects of memoir, history, and travel narrative into an elegant and unique tapestry, Stothard uses the sights and sounds of the ancient city to reconnect with the experiences that shaped his life. Melancholy yet often humorous, Alexandria probingly deconstructs the enigma of modern Egypt—with its uneasy mix of classical touchstones and increasingly volatile Middle Eastern politics—and offers a first–hand glimpse into the fracturing state just before the Tahrir Square uprising and the start of the Arab Spring.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Jul 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781468310399

Peter Stothard

Peter Stothard is editor of The Time Literary Supplement. He was born in 1951 and educated at Brentwood School, Essex, and Trinity College, Oxford. He was editor of The Times from 1992 to 2002, and has written widely on modern politics and ancient literature. He was voted Editor of the Year by Granada’s ‘What the Papers Say’ in 2000, and was knighted for services to newspapers in 2003. Harper Collins published his previous book, “30 Days: A Month at the Heart of Blair’s War “, in 2003.

Reviews for Alexandria

[vguy_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Somehow disappointing. PS is obviously well-read, and can write; wasn't TLS editor for nothing. But the structure is over-complex, pseudo-cinematic, partly post-modern. He tells three stories in three time frames: his sojourn in Alexandria writing and researching this book; his autobiography, or at least parts of it, mostly when he wasn't doing very well so tinkering with earlier drafts of the book; thirdly, the story of Cleopatra herself. Only the third one really catches fire - the power of narrative history, the outsize characters involved, their subsequent fame.It's a familiar story in outline, but we learn much more, including about some of the minor characters. The bits of PS's own life, however, seem mostly dreary, even if here and there he captures something e.g. the Kafkaesque quality of working for Shell, the loopiness of the unionised printing world. And modern Alexandria seems dreary too, its ancient glories long covered in dust, his activities coming down to hanging about waiting for something to happen.