Episode 5
Tracing his lifelong interest in Cleopatra, Peter Stothard recalls seeing Elizabeth Taylor's 1963 movie role. Read by Kenneth Cranham.
When Peter Stothard, former editor of The Times and now editor of the Times Literary Supplement, finds himself in Alexandria in the winter of 2010 after his flight to South Africa has been cancelled, he sets out to explore a nation on the brink of revolution.
Accompanied by two native Egyptians, Mohammed and Socratis, whose eagerness to spend time with him is never really explained, Stothard traces his lifelong interest in the history of Cleopatra, and his repeated failure to write the book about her that he has started so many times.
Melancholy and sometimes humorous, Alexandria filters the life of a classics scholar turned journalist through the prism of Cleopatra's turbulent history - while all around the author, the cracks begin to appear in Hosni Mubarak's own empire.
Episode 5 (of 5):
The author recalls seeing Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 film Cleopatra. In the meantime the Arab Spring begins.
Read by Kenneth Cranham
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Reader | Kenneth Cranham |
| Producer | Jill Waters |
| Abridger | Jill Waters |
| Writer | Peter Stothard |
Broadcasts
Fri 21 Jun 201309:45BBC Radio 4 FM- Sat 22 Jun 201300:30BBC Radio 4
- Fri 8 Jun 201814:45BBC Radio 4 Extra
- Sat 9 Jun 201802:45BBC Radio 4 Extra
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