Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

Scandalous Women is honored to have a guest post by noted historical fiction auhor Colin Falconer today on the blog talking about one of my favorite subjects Cleopatra. Colin Falconer has been published widely in the UK, US and Europe and his books have been translated into seventeen languages.   His novel about Cleopatra WHEN WE WERE GODS, is now re-released on Kindle US, Kindle UK and for all other formats on Smashwords for $2.99 . " ... this fresh take on one of history's leading ladies is smoothly written, slickly couching ancient history in the contemporary rhetoric of female empowerment ..." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY See more at http://www.colinfalconer.net/  You can also read more at his blog: http://www.colinfalconer.net/the-man-with-the-past.html or follow him on Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/colin_falconer Without further ado, I give you Colin Falconer! If it wasn’t all true, it would be hard to believe: thirty years before Jesus, an eighteen year old princes...

While I was researching my chapter on Cleopatra for Scandalous Women , the question of whether or not she was black came up. For centuries Cleopatra was seen as an exotic femme fatale but with the rise of interest in African-American history and the black power movement over the years, there has been a rush to claim Cleopatra as a sister. I used to argue about this with my brother constantly when I was in high school and studying ancient history. He insisted that Cleopatra had to be black because she was the Pharoah of Egypt and Egypt was in Africa. I, of course, explained to him all about Alexander the Great and how after his death, his empire was divided amongst his generals, and Ptolemy ended up with Egypt. We went around like this for days before I just gave up arguing with him. Now of course, with the announcement that Angelina Jolie might be playing the role in a film adapted from Stacey Schiff's biography, the question comes up again (the fact that Angelina Jolie is much mo...

Cleopatra (1963) Twentieth Century Fox Written and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz Produced by Walter Wanger Cast Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra Richard Burton as Marc Antony Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar Carroll O'Connor as Servilius Casca Roddy McDowall as Octavian Martin Landau as Rufio Hume Cronyn as Sosigenes Andrew Keir as Agrippa Kenneth Haigh as Brutus George Cole as Flavius Pamela Brown as the High Priestess Cesare Danova as Apollodorus Francesca Annis as Eiras Richard O'Sullivan as Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Gregoire Aslan as Pothinus Martin Benson as Ramos My thoughts:  Pretty everyone, even if they have no taste for celebrity gossip, knows the backstory to the filming of Cleopatra.  It's the film that not only took two years to make, and almost bankrupted the studio, but it is also the film that ended two marriages, and gave the world the love story of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton or Le Scandale as it was known at the time. By th...

Scandalous Women is pleased to have this quick Q&A with historical fiction author Michelle Moran, author of The Heretic's Daughter and Nefertiti, talking about her new book Cleopatra's Daughter which will be on shelves on September 15. Michelle Moran was born in the San Fernando Valley, CA. She took an interest in writing from an early age, purchasing Writer's Market and submitting her stories and novellas to publishers from the time she was twelve. When she was accepted into Pomona College she took as many classes as possible in British Literature, particularly Milton, Chaucer, and the Bard. Not surprisingly, she majored in English while she was there. Following a summer in Israel where she worked as a volunteer archaeologist, she earned an MA from the Claremont Graduate University. Q: What prompted you to write a novel about Cleopatra’s daughter? A: I do a great deal of traveling both for research and for fun, and most of my destinations are archaeological sites. On...

When one thinks of Cleopatra, one thinks of the image to the left. The seductress on her barge on her way to conquer Mark Anthony. More than 2,000 years after her death, the last Pharoah of Egypt still holds our fascination as one of history's most famous and mysterious women. Her name is synonymous with beauty, sex, seduction, and power. Her legend has inspired filmmakers, poets, and playwrights over the centuries as they try to capture her elusive spirit. But who was Cleopatra really? Was she a seductress who destroyed Mark Antony and brought about the end of the Egyptian dynasty? Or was she a powerful ruler who used men for her own purposes? Was she Black or pure Macedonian Greek and why does it matter? Will the real Cleopatra please stand up? Classical portraits portray her as an ethereal beauty. But that was far from the contemporary versions of the Queen. Well for starters she reigned as Cleopatra VII (Cleopatra being a popular name in the Ptolemy dynasty. In fact her mother ...