Author: Stephanie Dray

ISBN: 973 0 425 23855 4

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Lily of the Nile is a page turner imbued with the magic realism of the Isaic faith. The time frame is just after the fall of Alexandria to the Romans. The main character is Cleopatra Selene, Queen of Mauretania. Selene and her twin brother Helios who are only eleven and their younger brother who are taken hostage by Augustus Caesar. Just before she commits suicide, their mother Cleopatra, bestows Isis's powers of resurrection on Selene.

What is magic and what is real? In this sparkling historical novel, Stephanie Dray shows us the rough aspects of life as slaves at the court of Augustus. She tosses out moments of unreality and make them seem normal. The elegant use of language, fully realised characterisation, adept play of tension and conflict all combine in Lily of the Nile to create an exciting read. The author has a fine ear for dialogue

This novel is remarkable in the veracity of its research and because it delivers a wholeheartedly portrait of the Ancient Egyptians and Roman protagonists.

The only negative aspect of this novel is that the Isaic magic is a bit streched out, which makes it hardly believable. The magic should have helped Selene escape her Roman geolers more easily. Will Selene reach her goal of continuing the Pharaonic dynasty in Egypt? You'll have to read the novel to find this out.

Nevertheless , “…the spread of Isaic worship nurtured a nascent concept of personal spirituality without which our world might be very different today. And where it not for the influence of Cleopatra Selene as the formost proponent of Isis during the Aaugustan Age, such a transition may never have taken hold.”

The rediscovered values of the Pharaonic era are to be commended. Ms Dray's extensive research has paid off. She has succeeded in resurrecting the Pharaonic and Roman era.