Jacob Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine in 1803. He was a writer of children's books. Abbott was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College. In 1829 he founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston. Abbott was also a Congregational minister. His writing encompasses juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. Cleopatra's beauty shaped history. Julius Caesar bowed before her. Antony lost everything when he followed her. It was Octavius who finally was her match. Her biography is an invaluable look into the history of the ancient world.