H. Rider Haggard’s Cleopatra, published in 1889, is a thrilling adventure story framed as a discovered manuscript, a common device in his work. The narrative is presented as the Greek testament of Harmachis, a young Egyptian priest and the rightful heir to the throne of the Pharaohs. From his youth, Harmachis is raised in secret to be the prophesied instrument of Egypt’s liberation from the corrupt Ptolemaic dynasty. His sacred duty is to overthrow the foreign queen, Cleopatra, and reclaim the throne for the native Egyptian line. He successfully infiltrates her court in Alexandria, using his skills as a magician and astrologer to gain her favor. However, the novel’s core is a tragic tale of seduction and betrayal. Harmachis, committed to destroying Cleopatra, is instead utterly captivated by her intelligence, power, and intoxicating beauty. He abandons his divine mission and falls passionately in love with her, betraying his vows, his fellow conspirators, and his country. Cleopatra, a master of manipulation, uses his love to consolidate her own power and uncover his plots. The story is a first-person account of a fallen hero, filled with remorse and self-recrimination as he recounts how his personal weakness led to the failure of the great rebellion and the eventual triumph of Rome. Haggard’s novel is less a historical account and more a dramatic, supernatural-tinged tragedy of a man torn between sacred duty and profane love, painting a captivating and ruthless portrait of Cleopatra as a femme fatale who brings about the ruin of a noble soul.

Table of Contents:

• Cleopatra. Part 1

• Cleopatra. Part 2

• Cleopatra. Part 3

• Cleopatra. Part 4

• Cleopatra. Part 5

• Cleopatra. Part 6