I want to start by thanking NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for a review copy of this work in exchange for review.

This book was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a little more focus on the members of the dynasty and their contributions to Egypt during the 300 years of their rule. However, Wilkinson provides a comprehensive and detailed sociocultural history of the Ptolemaic period, bringing to the forefront of history the lives of everyday indigenous Egyptians and Greek immigrant communities, rather than focusing solely on the Ptolemaic Pharos. By shifting focus away from the court, Wilkinson has created an interesting and detailed work focused on the uncertainty, cultural tensions, and religious practices occurring during the period.

The greatest moments of the book are the actual quotations of the surviving evidence of everyday individuals. From the man seeking refuge in a religious temple, to the funeral markings of the wife of the High Priest of Phat. Even after thousands of years the very human nature of these works helps to highlight the past is both distant and close.

I also enjoyed the discussion of Cleopatra VII's role in the practices of Indigenous Egyptian religious cults. I learned quite a bit about her approach to the traditional role of Pharo in religious practices and her links to the cult of Isis.

I will say that I found quite a few portions of this book to be a little repetitive. I do think that Wilkinson was trying to draw a thorough line between the height of Ptolemaic power and its end, but Alexander the Great makes a lot of appearances throughout the book and the golden age of the Dynasty was constantly referenced. It made it a little hard to follow the timeline of how events were unfolding.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It provided a deeper understanding of how the Ptolemaic dynasty maintained their power after securing their place in Egypt. The death of Alexander the Great left his empire in a race for dominance and Ptolemy I was able to establish himself and his dynasty in such a way to integrate Egyptian customs and maintain power for nearly three centuries. Wilkinson's writing not only highlights life in wider Egypt but also the tensions between Greek Immigrants who helped install Ptolemaic rule and the Indigenous Egyptians who ensured the continuation of the dynasty. Would recommend it to those interested in a great cultural understanding of Egypt during the last Pharaonic dynasty.

Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Medical content, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery, Kidnapping

Oh this book was so so good! I've read another of his books about Egypt a couple of years ago and was impressed with the level of research. This book didn't disappoint and in my opinion, went over and above in many ways, Cleopatra has always fascinated popular culture but the origin story of her family is just as worthy of interest and praise because oh boy, is there plenty of tea there all the down the family tree.

This book is meticulously researched but isn't boring and will not turn away those that rarely indulge in nonfiction. In fact, because its language is so clear, each Ptolemy's personality is so well laid out, and events flow so seamlessly, a non fan of fiction will not realize until it's too late that they are in fact enjoying a history book :)

Wilkinson’s storytelling is what truly kept me engaged throughout this book. His examination of Alexander the Great’s role in laying the foundations for the Ptolemaic period is particularly insightful, highlighting the deliberate integration of Grecian and Egyptian cultural elements that facilitated the acceptance of subsequent Macedonian rule. This is a thoughtful and brilliantly descriptive exploration of a frequently overlooked era of history.

Honestly while I thought this did contain new to me information and was well researched I just wasn't appreciative of the writing.It was rather dull at points and the author constantly switched timelines in the middle of certain pharaoh's stories.You might be reading about Ptolemy III but in actuality the author has switched to Ptolemy I mid paragraph and then back again after several sentences.It was a pretty frustrating issue for me but I prevailed and did enjoy reading about the Triumphs,some of the lesser known pharaohs and of course Alexandria itself.

I learned a lot from reading this book, it's very thorough. That's also part of what I didn't like about it, just because it's so much to take in that it took me so much longer than it normally would to read through. I've never read a book on this period of Egyptian history before, but I feel like it does a good job of discussing the history in a way that is accessible to someone with limited knowledge of this area.

The synopsis of this book was highly intriguing to me as I love reading about the history of Ancient Egypt as well as other ancient civilizations. This specific book covers the last dynasty of Ancient Egypt from the ruling of Alexander the Great to Cleopatra. This period in Ancient Egyptian history was very unique after Ptolemy began a new dynasty in ancient Egypt that lasted for several hundred years. Alexandria became the new center of this civilization that blended ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek societies together prior to the rise of Ancient Rome. I really liked how detailed the writing was and you can tell this book was very well researched by the author as he relied on original documents from this era in history as well as recent archaeological discoveries to tell this story. I liked how interesting the content of this book was and how the author interpreted these archaeological discoveries and original documents in a way that the reader could easily understand their meaning. I think a lot of people who love reading about this period in history will enjoy this book.

Deep, clear, and a very fun read! This part of history has been magnified by so many over the centuries at varying degrees of accuracy, completion, and care. If one wanted to know what actually occurred in that time period then Wilkinson is someone you must read! I know it's difficult, and I've often thought about how much about the documentation of the daily lives of Ancient Egyptians was lost during the fire at Alexandria. I wish this book opined on the daily lives of the citizens back then, but that's no fault of this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed learning about this era of history. There's so much written about Alexander the Great and Cleopatra VII, but this is the first time I've read something this in depth about the centuries in between. The only minor complaint I had is that I wish the information about the more day-to-day life in the era was incorporated into the book better. There were a few times where a chapter would leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger about what happened next, and then the next chapter would dive into temple politics and agriculture.

Toby Wilkinson has cemented himself as a reputable and fair Egyptologist, looking at all viewpoints in the historical periods he covers. This latest book of his was well-written and insightful.

Wilkinson again confirms his preeminent position as the foremost contemporary scholar of Ancient Egypt. Fantastic look at an Empire in decline and the figures that made the Last Dynasty such a captivating moment for everyone from historians to Shakespeare. An essential read.