The Friday-Face Off: Snakes

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme here at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe. You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

I was initially going to make today's post a another installment in my 'If you like x, you might also like..' series of posts, but alas, time got away from me and I didn't have time to get it finished, so you can expect that next Friday! In the meantime, I decided to go ahead and include another Friday Face-Off because I love doing these so much.

This week's topic is:
‘Hi little cub. Oh no, don’t be ssscared.’ – A cover with snakes

For this week's topic, I decided to go with Margaret George's The Memoirs of Cleopatra. I thought it would be easier to find books with snakes on them than it was, but the few I did find only had one or two other cover editions so it seemed The Memoirs of Cleopatra wold be my best bet. Margaret George is an incredible historical fiction author whose books I always enjoy reading.

  

1997 US St. Martin's Press || 1999 Estonian || 1999 Finnish

  

1998 US St. Martin's Griffin || 2000 Lithuanian || 2008 Lithuanian

1998 US MacMillan || 2012 Pan Books

My choice(s):

I can't say I love any of these all that much, but I really like the simplicity 1997 US edition. I also really like the 1999 Estonian edition, I think it captures the Egyptian setting and style really well. I don't mind snakes too much, but that Finnish edition is just a bit too much for me--I would have no idea it's a book about Cleopatra. 

Which covers do you like best?

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Giveaway: The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George

I am excited to share with you all the chance to win a paperback copy of Margaret George's incredible book The Confessions of Young Nero! I reviewed this book on the blog last year when it came out and because of that Berkley Publishing was kind enough to offer me the opportunity to give away one copy of the new paperback edition. Find out more about the book below as well as how to enter!

The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George

Paperback, 544 pages

Berkley Publishing

Release Date: March 20th, 2018

ISBN: 97804514733394

Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

"New York Times bestselling author Margaret George has brought history to vivid life with her critically-acclaimed biographical novels of historical figures including Helen of Troy, Mary Magdalene, Cleopatra, Mary Queen of Scots, and Henry VIII. Now, she casts her eye to the last member of Julius Caesar’s dynasty, to remold and humanize the boy of whom history has made a caricature. Emperor Nero, who ascended to Rome’s ultimate seat of power at sixteen, is enshrined in popular memory as a hedonist, a tyrant, and cunning executioner. But the truth behind the caricature reveals a boy, an artist, an athlete, and a ruler who was both a product of his time and his mother Agrippina’s relentless ambition.

THE CONFESSIONS OF YOUNG NERO (Berkley Paperback Reprint; March 20, 2018; $18) is written, like Robert Graves’s I, Claudius, in the form of an autobiography. It reveals with luminescent detail Nero’s complex talents and successes, his childhood, his rise to power, and his instinct for self-preservation which first took root on the moonlit night his insane uncle, the Emperor Caligula, tried to drown him.

Nero’s life—riddled with murders, rivalries, plots, orgies, and incest—is sensational on its own. But for George, THE CONFESSIONS OFYOUNG NERO is not just an opportunity to tell his story. It is an attempt to rehabilitate his image, and to expose the truth and complexities about both a man—and a time period—that has been much mythologized. George spent five years researching the novel, but her idea of resettingNero’s villainous reputation has been building for more than thirty.

When he is just a small child, Nero’s mother, Agrippina, is released from exile by her elderly uncle—the newly crowned Emperor Claudius. Agrippina quickly plucks Nero from his modest upbringing, and embarks on a ruthless pruning of the family tree to ensure what she believes is her son’s rightful place in the Palace. Her naked ambition, cunning, and well-placed doses of poison help the obstacles fall one by one, until a teenage boy is given control of an Empire. Both tempted and terrified to assume his reign, Nero’s indoctrination into the incest, violence, luxury, and intrigue that have gripped Rome’s seat of power for generations will shape him into the man he was fated to become. 

George covers the unfolding of Nero’s life and legacy, including his forced marriage to his cousin Octavia at fifteen; his passion for a beautiful ex-slave and other love affairs; the influence of the great philosopher Seneca on his reign; and his attentiveness to his political duties, including the improvement of Rome’s courts and public amenities. George uses Nero’s expansion of theatres, athletic games, chariot races, and musical performances as a window into the powerful artistic and athletic impulses that governed him, and which made him a champion of the common man—the men among whom he’d begun his life as “Lucius,” until fate made him forever “Nero.”

Like Mary Beard’s revisionist history of ancient Rome, SPQR, NERO both challenges our assumptions of that time period and taps into readers’ fascination with the Empire. Readers of Philippa Gregory will adore and find much to discover in George’s latest novel.

The author will continue Nero’s story in a second book this fall, THE SPLENDOR BEFORE THE DARK, which picks up during the ill-fated, final four years of his young life, as he faces his biggest test and challenge: the Great Fire of Rome."

About the author:

Margaret George is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels of biographical historical fiction, including Elizabeth I, Helen of Troy, Mary, Called Magdalene, The Memoirs of Cleopatra, The Autobiography of Henry VIII, and Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles. She also has written a children’s book, Lucille Lost.

You can find out more about Margaret George and her work at her website: margaretgeorge.com

Giveaway:
**This is a US only giveaway, per Berkley Publishing's request. 
Winners will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond with their complete mailing address. This mailing address will be forwarded to Berkley Publishing, who will be sending you the book; your address will not be used for any other purposes.
If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will have to select another winner. 
Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Planning to purchase a book or two? Consider purchasing on Book Depository through my affiliate link! Book Depository has worldwide free shipping and millions of titles to choose from.

I am also an Amazon affiliate, so if you'd prefer to shop through Amazon, just click the banner on the upper right hand side of my blog! (above the 'Follow by email' box, you may need to pause adblock to see it!)

Book Beginnings Friday: The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George

 

Book Beginnings Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader. Join us every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

It's been a busy week, so the fact that I actually finished one book and am able to start on this one is truly a blessing. I also haven't been able to do as much blogging as I would like or create more of my own content, but I'm happy to join in with these many wonderful book blog memes! Today's book beginning comes from Margaret George's upcoming release, The Confessions of Young Nero. I've always found George's writing to be quite lovely and I have enjoyed her previous takes on historical figures, such as in Helen of Troy. I just started the ARC copy that I have been holding on to for what seems like ages, so I'm excited to begin! Let me know what you think of this beginning in the comments below!

Publication Date: March 7th, 2017

"This is not the first time I have been imprisoned. So I am hopeful that this is a sham and that the new emperor, Galba, will soon need my unique services and quietly send for me and once again I shall be treading the palace halls. I feel at home there, and why shouldn't I? I have provided my timely services for those in power for many years.

By trade I am a poisoner. There, why not say it? And not any old poisoner, but the acknowledged expert and leader in my profession. So many others want to be another Lcusta, another me. So I founded an academy to pass on my knowledge and train the next generation, for Rome will always be in need of poisoners."


What do you think? Would you keep reading? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!)

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released!

This week's upcoming book spotlight is:

The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George

Publication Date: March 7, 2017 
Berkley Books

Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble

From Goodreads:

Built on the backs of those who fell before it, Julius Caesar s imperial dynasty is only as strong as the next person who seeks to control it. In the Roman Empire no one is safe from the sting of betrayal: man, woman or child. 

As a boy, Nero s royal heritage becomes a threat to his very life, first when the mad emperor Caligula tries to drown him, then when his great aunt attempts to secure her own son s inheritance. Faced with shocking acts of treachery, young Nero is dealt a harsh lesson: it is better to be cruel than dead. 

While Nero idealizes the artistic and athletic principles of Greece, his very survival rests on his ability to navigate the sea of vipers that is Rome. The most lethal of all is his own mother, a cold-blooded woman whose singular goal is to control the empire. With cunning and poison, the obstacles fall one by one. But as Agrippina's machinations earn her son a title he is both tempted and terrified to assume, Nero s determination to escape her thrall will shape him into the man he was fated to become an Emperor who became legendary. 

With impeccable research and captivating prose, "The Confessions of Young Nero" is the story of a boy s ruthless ascension to the throne. Detailing his journey from innocent youth to infamous ruler, it is an epic tale of the lengths to which man will go in the ultimate quest for power and survival.

Am I talking about too many ancient historical fiction books lately? Well, even if I am, here's another one anyway! Margaret George is a superb writer, and I am immensely looking forward to this particular book. Most of the Roman Emperors led fairly, uh, interesting lives, and Nero is one of the more widely recognized emperors of the period. I'm excited to see what George does with what we know of Nero from various records and how she decides to mold this story.

What do you think about this upcoming release? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

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