Oskar von Wertheimer's fictional biography (what else could a story about Cleopatra be?) is a wondeful example of how this literary genre was handled in the first half of the twentieth century. Like Emil Ludwig's book on the same subject, plublished some six years later, it is a masterful blend of fiction, psychology and historical research. Jacob Wassermann's "biography" of Alexandar the Great comes also to mind. The writing is superb and the black & white plates scattered through-out add even more depth and interest. Subject, Substance and Style, what more could one ask for? ( )

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