Head of Zeus nets Draycott’s biography of Cleopatra’s daughter

Head of Zeus has acquired historian Jane Draycott’s debut non-fiction Cleopatra’s Daughter: Egyptian Princess, Roman Prisoner, African Queen, said to be the first biography of ancient Egyptian princess Cleopatra Selene.

Richard Milbank acquired world English language rights for the book from Doug Young at PEW Literary for Head of Zeus’ Apollo imprint. It will be published in hardback and e-book in November 2022.

“This is the first biography of Cleopatra Selene, one of the most fascinating and unjustly neglected female rulers of the ancient world, and surviving daughter of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony,” the synopsis reads.

“Jane Draycott recreates the life and times of a remarkable woman. Unlike her siblings, who were either executed by Augustus, or died young and were forgotten, Cleopatra Selene survived and prospered. She was a princess who became a prisoner; a prisoner who became a queen; an Egyptian who became a Roman; and a woman who became a powerful ruler in her own right, at a time when women were marginalised. Set against the dramatic stage of the ancient Mediterranean, her life shines a new light on the politics and culture of Rome and Egypt, and the relationship between Rome and Mauretania.”

Draycott is a Roman historian and archaeologist with a special interest in Graeco-Roman Egypt. She has degrees in archaeology, ancient history and classics, has worked in academic institutions in the UK and Italy, and excavated sites ranging from Bronze Age villages to First World War trenches across Europe. She has written academic books and articles on a range of subjects related to ancient history and archaeology. She is currently lecturer in ancient history at the University of Glasgow, and co-director of the University’s Games and Gaming Lab.

“There is a common misconception that women played no significant role in ancient Roman history as so many of their stories have been lost to us over the past two and a half thousand years,” she said. "Yet Cleopatra Selene was an important figure in the ancient Mediterranean, uniquely situated at the intersection of Greek, Roman, Egyptian and African culture, and she offers us a perspective that is simultaneously ancient and modern. It has been a pleasure working with Pew Literary and Head of Zeus to recover and tell her story.”

Young said: “Jane Draycott is a brilliant historian with a gift for bringing ancient history vividly to life. We were both thrilled to find such a great home for her first of what I hope will be many books for the general reader at Head of Zeus.”

Milbank added: “It is high time that Cleopatra Selene, one of the most fascinating women of the ancient world, emerged from the long shadow cast by her celebrity mother. Head of Zeus is proud and delighted to be publishing Jane Draycott’s riveting and lovingly researched investigation into the life and times of a shamefully neglected woman.”