Cleopatra’s daughter thrives in ‘Lily of the Nile’

There always has been turmoil in Egypt, since the time of the pharaohs, and no other chaotic time could be more fascinating than the era when the Romans deposed Queen Cleopatra from her throne and took her children into captivity.

In her new book, “Lily of the Nile,” author Stephanie Dray examines the life of Cleopatra Selene, the captured daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, and how she struggles to adapt to life among the Romans.

After the death of her parents and the ransacking of the elegant Egyptian city of Alexandria, Selene and her brothers Helios and Philadelphus are captured and sent to Rome to learn to live like Romans under the watchful eye of the Emperor Octavius.

Unbeknown to the Romans, they are no ordinary Egyptian royalty, for all three of the children are blessed with magic bestowed to them by their mother and the goddess Isis. Selene and her twin brother, Helios, are known as the Two Saviors, the two people destined to bring back the Golden Age of their homeland.

With her extensive political knowledge (even at her young age), Selene begins to plan how she can return and bring prosperity to Egypt, even if it means bending to the rules and customs of the Romans to get her way. With sheer determination and courage, Selene begins to mature from a girl who has little but the strength of her name into a woman who proves she has the capability to rule in the world of men.

In the first of a proposed trilogy following the life of Princess Selene, Dray sets up this dramatic and intriguing historical fiction with all the backstabbing, conniving and plotting that must have ruled the day back then (much as it does now).

Dray also adds a generous dose of magic to the mix as she touches on the mystic worship of the goddess Isis. Selene and her brothers worship Isis and believe Selene herself is the goddess incarnate, a belief that strengthens their will and determination to again rule their country and people.

With a teenage heroine as the focus of this coming-of-age book, it is suitable reading for mature teens, but adults also will find “Lily of the Nile” a fascinating read.