by Stephanie Dray | Jan 10, 2012 | Articles, Fun Stuff, Research, Song of the Nile
The heroine of my novels, Cleopatra Selene, is the daughter of the much more famous Cleopatra VII of Egypt, the notorious Queen of the Nile who is best known for having committed suicide by way of clutching a venomous serpent to her breast. There is some debate...
by Stephanie Dray | Dec 9, 2011 | Food, Fun Stuff
Readers, none of the historical recipes I’ve featured in this series has made me as hungry as this one. Adelaida L de Lower presents a feast that would make such a lovely holiday meal I’m now considering readjusting my holiday menu. You should too! I defy...
by Stephanie Dray | Nov 22, 2011 | Food, Fun Stuff, Miscellany
So, we all know about the wine. Falernian, Caecuban, etc. Ancients drank the stuff in copious quantities. But what else did they drink? This was a point of inquiry for me when writing Song of the Nile: A Novel of Cleopatra’s daughter who became the highly...
by Stephanie Dray | Nov 19, 2011 | Miscellany, My Works, Song of the Nile
To the ancient Romans, just about everyone was a barbarian. (Except the Greeks, who gave them the word in the first place, not to mention an inferiority complex to go with it.) Whether it was Blue Picts of Scotland or Gallic and Germanic hordes, the Romans generally...
by Stephanie Dray | Nov 2, 2011 | Articles, Cleopatra Selene, Daughters of the Nile, For Readers, Heroines, Lily of the Nile, Miscellany, Research, Song of the Nile
For much of its history, Rome depended upon Egypt for grain. While the Romans considered themselves an agricultural nation, and paid great homage to farming in literature, poetry, and art, the simple truth was that they couldn’t feed themselves. By the time Cleopatra...
