Daughter of the Crocodile: Book 2 of the Ptolemies Quartet
By (Author) Duncan Sprott
Faber & Faber
Faber & Faber
1st January 2008
Main
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
823.914
Paperback
496
Width 127mm, Height 197mm, Spine 30mm
390g
With Daughter of the Crocodile, Duncan Sprott continues his epic reconstruction of the story of the Ptolemies, Greek Pharaohs in Egypt from Alexander the Great to the fall of Kleopatra. The glory of the family is at its height, but now begins their bizarre slide towards disaster, via incest, murder, matricide and fratricide - an ever-rising tide of their own blood.
Pleasure-loving Ptolemy II marries his reptilian sister, Arsinoe Beta, who promises to win his wars for him. Worthy Ptolemy III avenges the murder of his sister by conquering the Syrian empire . . . and marries a murderess. Ptolemy IV prefers drinking and dancing to government, maltreats his sister-wife, and lets power slip into the hands of his vicious minions, Agathokles and Agathokleia of Samos. Chaos reigns, leaving Egypt to be ruled by the six-year-old Ptolemy V - who will marry the first of the Kleopatras.
Underpinning his work with massive researches, Sprott performs the miracle of reading between the lines of history, restoring the passion and emotion to a powerful tragedy.
"'Chock full of drama and passion... An excellent read set along the exotic Nile.' The Good Book Guide"
Duncan Sprott was born in 1952. He is the author of 1784, The Clapton Hercules, Our Lady of the Potatoes and The House of the Eagle: Book One of the Ptolemies Quartet. He lives in Ireland.