<P>?Joann Fletcher has the good grace and specialist knowledge to do away with Roman romances. This book?s bedrock is Egyptology. . . . Cleopatra was, indeed, not just a ?baleful beauty;? she was great.? ?<I>History Today</I> </P> <P>World-renowned Egyptologist Joann Fletcher offers an extraordinary look at one of Egypt's most intriguing leaders?the legendary Cleopatra. In the tradition of biographies by Stacy Shiff, Duane Roller, and Adrian Goldsworthy, and drawing on astonishing new evidence about Cleopatra?s life?including tax records, personal correspondence, and the discovery of her palace quarters beneath the Mediterranean Sea?Fletcher presents Cleopatra?s life in glorious detail, revealing the woman behind the myths. </P>