Cleopatra was declared a goddess at birth, became a queen at eighteen, married twice - to her own brothers, starting a war against the first and poisoning the second; her lovers were Julius Caesar and Mark Antony; she ruled a huge empire, and at some point the fate of the entire Western civilization was in her hands. Shakespeare and Shaw endowed her with the gift of words; Michelangelo, Tiepolo and Elizabeth Taylor made her image visible. But endless masks and interpretations buried the true face of the great queen. The brilliant biographer and Pulitzer Prize winner Stacey Schiff returned the last ruler of Egypt from the kingdom of the dead, one after another refuting and debunking the speculations and legends associated with the name of Cleopatra. Her passionate and compelling account of this flesh-and-blood woman—strong, smart, fierce, and powerful—has become a huge hit with readers. And in the near future, the Hollywood company Sony Pictures is starting to film the book by Stacy Schiff, and one of the most beautiful and popular stars in Hollywood, Angelina Jolie, has been invited to play the role of Cleopatra.