There Goes Somebody's Miracle...

You know, I'm praying for it.

  • Reviews
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Just This
  • About

Explore

  • All Reviews
  • Movies
  • Books
  • @ Third Coast Review
  • Film Work

Connect

Books · May 7, 2013

The Wickedest Woman in the World

Since January (well, February really. January was a blur.), I’ve been making a concerted effort to read more. On the beach in Goa, I devoured Shantaram, a 900-page novel about one man’s adventures in India. On the drive back to the midwest, I listened to Steve Martin’s An Object of Beauty. I didn’t take many books with me in my move, but I brought enough that I’m now through seven in just a few month’s time, a faster clip through books than I’ve moved at any time in recent memory.

And I’ve enjoyed it, too. Remembering what it’s like to make the time to open a book (I don’t own any e-reader, and I’m not convinced I want one) and set aside all else to fully take in what’s on the page is one of life’s small luxuries.

Most recently on my list was CLEOPATRA: A Life, a biography of the Egyptian queen by Stacy Schiff, which I took myself to brunch today so I could finally finish (any excuse for bottomless coffee). I’ve had it for a couple years now, and am sorry that it took me this long to get to it, as it’s a stunning portrait of a woman history has marginalized into a deceptive beauty, at best.

Schiff marries strong historical research with a charming narrative style that makes it all easy to get lost in. In fact, over the course of reading this one I found myself thinking about Cleopatra and her cast of characters (Caesar, Mark Antony, Cicero, Plutarch) at odd times throughout the day, anxious to get back to the book to see what came next in their epic lives.

While I likely won’t retain every detail, I’m walking away with some decent cocktail party conversation about the woman who ruled Egypt. Did you know she married two of her brothers and had one killed (the other drowned) so that she might keep the throne? Did you know that her relationships with both Caesar (with whom she had one son) and Mark Antony (three children) were more strategic alliances than romantic dalliances? And that she didn’t die from a poisonous snake bite at all, but likely poisoned figs she had smuggled into the mausoleum where she was in hiding from Octavian (aka Augustus), whose Roman victory over Egypt was inevitable?

She’s a powerful figure, one we all too quickly associate with Elizabeth Taylor’s 1963 performance or Shakespeare’s tragedy. Though Schiff admits to significant gaps in the history some 2,000 years later, the portrait she crafts is more complete than any pop culture would have you believe.

From our first glimpse of her to the last, she dazzles with her ability to set the scene. To the end she was mistress of herself, astute, spirited, inconceivably rich, pampered yet ambitious.

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Posted By: Lisa Trifone · In: Books

In my ears
Well done, Old Sport. Well done.

You’ll Also Love

Read This: The Leftovers
Me & Liz
Day in, Day out

Get on the List

About Photo
Hello! I'm Lisa, and this is—or rather I am—Somebody's Miracle. Explore everything I'm watcing, reading and baking, all my far-flung adventures and ones closer to home. Thanks for reading.

Connect

Get on the List

Subscribe for the latest posts, musings and updates directly in your inbox.

Categories

  • Reviews
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Just This
  • About

Search

From the Archives

May 2025
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul    

lisabeesa

Two years ago today, I was coming off what - until Two years ago today, I was coming off what - until that point - was the biggest adventure of my life. I bought a home. I turned 40. I spent a month in Paris. I’d hit a new career milestone. Life was every bit what I imagined it could be. 

Then I walked into a first date with a guy I met on the internet and very quickly realized my (our!) best adventure had just begun. 

Two years of getting my goat (and delighting in it), because you love to see me laugh. Two years of not just making dinners but plating them, too, because you know I like a pretty plate. Two years of grand gestures not because you’re big on gestures, but because I am.

I thought I had it all figured out, and I think I would’ve been fine if you’d never walked into my life. But good grief am I glad you did. ❤️
🎄 Holiday Playlist! 🎄 It's my favorite trad 🎄 Holiday Playlist! 🎄

It's my favorite tradition (of so many!) of the season: my annual holiday playlist. Twenty-four songs. Two hours of tunes.

Sabrina Carpenter and The Kinks. My Morning Jacket and Kacey Musgraves. Ben Folds and Bette Midler and Bad Religion. 

You can listen on Spotify at the link in my bio!

Happy, happy holidays to you and yours. Wishing you a joyful season!
I’d watch Pablo Larrain’s version of paint dry I’d watch Pablo Larrain’s version of paint drying, but thankfully his latest biopic of a famous, troubled woman (after JACKIE and SPENCER) is a far more engaging fever dream of passing time and missed opportunities.

MARIA, featuring a performance by Angelina Jolie that vibrates with vulnerability, is not perfect but it is fascinating. 

Now in theaters; on Netflix next month. Full review at the link!
My phone yelled at me this morning that I was out My phone yelled at me this morning that I was out of storage space, so over a couple cups of coffee I went back through this year’s photos and videos to purge what I don’t need on my device. 

Stumbled on this snap Brian took of me over dinner back in…June?…and honestly, I just love it. I love the way he sees me and I love the way I look when I see him. ❤️

Take care of each other. That’s all.
Eight years ago this week, @justin.f.brady and I w Eight years ago this week, @justin.f.brady and I went to see @waitressmusical on Broadway, and after the show we were treated to full band karaoke with die-hard fans. 

At the end of the show tunes lovefest, @sarabareilles—who wrote the show’s music and was hosting the karaoke—took to the mic to perform Brave, and it was more cathartic than I think any of us realized in the moment. 

It was the night before the 2016 election and none of us were (looking back now) as worried as we should have been. I had early voted, the wind seemed to be at @hillaryclinton’s back and we were ready for history to be made. 

I’ve thought about (and talked about) that moment a lot in the years since - it’s a great story! But especially today, as we’re on the eve of another monumental Election Day, I am imploring anyone reading this who may still be unsure or may not yet have a plan to be brave and vote for the person who is NOT a convicted criminal, serial sexual assaulter, con-man and dictator-in-waiting. @kamalaharris is the only way forward.

We can get back to debating policy in four years. For now, please vote for humanity, for democracy, for decency and for sanity. I wanna see you be brave.
Signs of life! 👋 I feel like I’ve been in a Signs of life! 👋 

I feel like I’ve been in a fog the last week or so, and it’s going to last at least through Tuesday…but I’m here, I promise!

Got to catch @musictheaterworks’ LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (with the lovely @yersha_la_la_la for company!) and it was delightful. Great production with just a hint of that community theater patina, a bit rough around the edges. (Is it just me or is that S in “Florist” totally upside down?!)

Full review coming soon at @thirdcoastreview!
This one gets a spot on the grid! Congrats to Drew This one gets a spot on the grid! Congrats to Drew and Jean on a beautiful wedding day and the start of an exciting new chapter. (But really, thanks for such a great reason to wear my new favorite dress! 😉)
I absolutely love this time of year. 🍂🍁 I absolutely love this time of year. 🍂🍁
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Disclosure

Copyright © 2025 There Goes Somebody's Miracle... · Theme by 17th Avenue