'The Golden Hope' is a historical fiction novel based on the life of Alexander the Great. In real life, he was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20, and spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia and Egypt. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders.