Cleopatra faced countless problems during its filming and production: passionate casting disputes, broken contracts, a costly re-location from London to Rome, an emergency tracheotomy for its star, Elizabeth Taylor, scandal-ridden gossip surrounding relationships on set, and a budget of $2 million that ballooned to final costs of $44 million. Legendary producer Walter Wanger recalls the drama that occurred both on and off the set, including the incredible obstacles he had to overcome and the exhilaration of producing a cinematic triumph. A revealing story about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s tempestuous romance and an insightful filmmaker’s journal, now back in print for the 50th anniversary of Cleopatra’s release, My Life with Cleopatra shares the true story of the relationship and film that enthralled the world. “I have been told by responsible journalists that there was more world interest in Cleopatra, which I produced, and in its stars—Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harrison—than in any event of 1962.” —Walter Wanger

The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world: Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt. Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious sister as well; incest and assassination were family specialties. Cleopatra appears to have had sex with only two men. They happen, however, to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, among the most prominent Romans of the day. Both were married to other women. Cleopatra had a child with Caesar and -- after his murder -- three more with his protégé. Already she was the wealthiest ruler in the Mediterranean; the relationship with Antony confirmed her status as the most influential woman of the age. The two would together attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spelled their ends. Cleopatra has lodged herself in our imaginations ever since. Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Shakespeare and Shaw put words in her mouth. Michelangelo, Tiepolo, and Elizabeth Taylor put a face to her name. Along the way, Cleopatra's supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. Rich in detail, epic in scope, Schiff 's is a luminous, deeply original reconstruction of a dazzling life.

For as long as humans have existed, we have consulted everything from the stars to stones with symbols on them. Growing up in an Arab Muslim family, SBS journalist and TEDx presenter Amal Awad was keenly aware of the unseen forces at play in her life - superstition, fatalism and magical jinn were more real to her than any Hollywood fantasy. From fundy (aka fundamentalist) Muslim to New Age luvvie, Amal has tried ... a lot. While this doesn't make her an expert in healing your life, it does makes her a well-versed one, fluent in the boundless healing modalities on offer in our ever-expanding retail universe. From psychic mediums and spirit guides to Paleo diets and empowerment, there are questionable (and downright fraudulent) solutions being sold to the masses. Yet, arguably, there is still a lot of good to be found in these offerings. In this funny and shrewdly observed book, Awal Awad shares her personal journey to peace and empowerment via a wide array of psychics, healers and witches, considering the smorgasbord of spiritual thinking on offer for people wanting to #livetheirbestlife and exploring whether these practices can help, harm or both in the quest for spiritual enlightenment.

Learn all about Cleopatra, a far more capable and powerful ruler than people have thought, in this lively and informative biography. Most of what we've known about Cleopatra—and what crept into art, film, and literature—came from her enemies, the Romans. Ascending to the throne at young age of 17, Cleopatra proved to be a brilliant negotiator who forged alliances that kept her in power and in control of her kingdom. This book about Egypt's last and most famous pharaoh features an inviting text, many sidebars, and excellent color illustrations: maps, photos of ancient artifacts, and artworks from many historical periods.

An enthralling tale of passion, ambition and betrayalThe mesmerizing story of Queen Cleopatra in her own words - by bestselling novelist Margaret George, author of The Autobiography of Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles. Told in the first person - from the young queen's earliest memories of her father's tenuous rule to her own reign over one of the most glittering kingdoms in the world - this is an enthralling saga of ambition and power. It is also a tale of passion that begins when the twenty-one-year-old Cleopatra, desperate to return from exile, seeks out the one man who can help her: Julius Caesar. And it does not end until, having survived the assassination of Caesar and the defeat of the second man she loves, Marc Antony, she plots her own death . . . PRAISE FOR MARGARET GEORGE 'The author's impeccable research brings a long-ago civilization thoroughly to life, and her portraits of Cleopatra, Caesar and Antony are wonderful. A spellbinding book' Barbara Taylor Bradford

Cleopatra faced countless problems during its filming and production: passionate casting disputes, broken contracts, a costly re-location from London to Rome, an emergency tracheotomy for its star, Elizabeth Taylor, scandal-ridden gossip surrounding relationships on set, and a budget of $2 million that ballooned to final costs of $44 million. Legendary producer Walter Wanger recalls the drama that occurred both on and off the set, including the incredible obstacles he had to overcome and the exhilaration of producing a cinematic triumph. A revealing story about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s tempestuous romance and an insightful filmmaker’s journal, now back in print for the 50th anniversary of Cleopatra’s release, My Life with Cleopatra shares the true story of the relationship and film that enthralled the world. “I have been told by responsible journalists that there was more world interest in Cleopatra, which I produced, and in its stars—Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harrison—than in any event of 1962.” —Walter Wanger

Before Julius Caesar ... before Marc Antony ... she was Cleopatra, Princess of the Nile, growing up in a climate of danger where sisters can also be assassins, and her pet leopard stalks the garden at night. Princess Cleopatra just cannot keep away from the marble tomb of Alexander the Great ... she hopes that one day people will call her 'Great'.

This fascinating sourcebook documents what we know of Cleopatra and also shows how she has evolved through the lens of interpretation.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "One of Cleopatra's Nights and Other Fantastic Romances" by Théophile Gautier. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.