Though she did not live to see 40, Cleopatra accomplished much during her reign as Egypt's last queen. Ruthless and shrewd, she waged wars, poisoned her enemies, and fell in love with Mark Antony, forging an alliance with him that ultimately led to her downfall. Untangling fact from fiction, acclaimed biographer Stacy Schiff weaves the story of the wealthiest and most influential woman of her time. "One of the most gifted storytellers writing today," according to historian Joseph J. Ellis, Schiff is author of the Pulitzer Prize winner Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) and the Pulitzer Prize finalist Saint-Exupéry.