Similarly to the first book, while the main plot of the book is fictionalized, the author does a good job of situating the fictionalized aspects within wider themes of Ptolemaic Alexandria and highlighting some key motifs of Egyptomania. Rather than reproducing 19th- and 20th-century Orientalist tropes, such as hypersexualization, mysticism, or pyramid-centric spectacle, the series reframes Egypt through political realism, administrative complexity, and Mediterranean geopolitics.
Throughout the book, Alexandria is highlighted as the wealthy center of learning that it was at the time. Alexandria is depicted not simply as an exotic backdrop for a murder mystery but as a functioning capital, intellectually associated with the Library of Alexandria, and embedded within Roman civil war politics. The Library and Mousion of Alexandria are especially featured in this book, as Tetesheri spends several key scenes in the Library and utilizes the resources there to help in her murder investigation. Alexandria is also shown to be a center of bustling trade in the Hellenistic Mediterranean, and the importance of pozzolana as both a trade material and building material is a key aspect within the plot of this book. This also highlights both the extensive trade and tensions that existed between Egypt and Rome at the time.
Cleopatra VII is depicted in the book as a strong and active monarch. The series clearly counters the Roman and later dramatic tradition (e.g., Roman propaganda → Shakespeare → Hollywood) that eroticizes and/or vilifies Cleopatra. Her knowledge of languages and intelligence is accentuated, perhaps an allusion to the queen’s description by Plutarch. Her effective rulership of Egypt is also emphasized in scenes where Cleopatra is shown to have taken an interest in the rebuilding of Alexandria, the restoration of the economy, and the wellbeing of her people. While these scenes are all fictionalized, they do echo historical records that indicate Cleopatra was active in the rulership of her country, and they provide a counter to other pop culture depictions of the queen, where she has been shown as a woman focused more on her own pleasures and her court as a place of ennui (here I am thinking of Cleopatra’s depiction in Shakespear and her more modern depiction in HBO’s Rome).

In general, one final Egyptomania theme that must be highlighted, and which is present in all the books of the series, is utilizing ancient Egypt as a backdrop for mystery/detective fiction. In contemporary popular culture, Egypt is seen as a site of intrigue, secret knowledge, conspiracies, hidden tombs, coded texts, etc. So, a modern Egyptomania phenomenon is seen in the ease with which detective plots are set in Egypt, due to audiences’ belief that Egypt is inherently a space of mysticism and intrigue.

Author: Tara Sewell-Lasater