The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The First Man in Rome
Book Review: Pure delight!
Summary: 5 Stars
OK, this is just a novel, but oh brother, what a novel! I must here kowtow to the talent of Colleen McCullough - this is the best novel about ancient Rome which I read since "Quo Vadis" by Henryk Sienkiewicz and "The secret of the Kingdom" by Mika Waltari. Every chapter, every page are a pure delight. And mostly it is very accurate historically - at least as much as a novel can be. I think that the only place in which the author took really some liberties with history are the early years of Sulla, but this is really a minor thing. One of my all times favourite books! Go and get it! Book Review: Rome before Caesar
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first book of six in the Masters of Rome (Caesar) series, probably the best historic fiction novels ever written. You will literally become a Roman, living and breathing the life of some of the most powerful historical figures ever.
The series which will come to focus on Julius Caesar starts with this delicious appetizer to wet your historical imaginations. So do not be misled. The central character is the great general Gaius Marius, whose military genius enables him to have unprecedented political success, as First Man in Rome.
Julius Caesar is not in this book, having not been born yet, but you will not be disappointed in the story, the writing, or the hours that disappear. Read on, you have another 5 after this one! Next up The Grass Crown.
Book Review: The Start of a Wonderful Series of Novels on Ancient Rome
Summary: 5 Stars
Colleen McCullough was born in Australia. A neurophysicist, she established the department of neurophysiology at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney She then worked as a researcher and teacher at Yale Medical School for ten years. She is the author of the record-breaking international bestseller The Thorn Birds and her series of books on Rome have also been bestsellers. Colleen lives on Norfolk Island in the Pacific with her husband.
Colleen McCullough has been one of my favourite authors ever since I read this book many years ago. Her research on the subject and her feel for the period of history she is writing about is second to none. The only slight criticism that I have with the books on Rome and it is probably outside the author's control is that the books are so detailed that the number of characters that become part of the story is so large that it is sometimes difficult to keep track of them all, but this is a small price to pay for the enjoyment the books give the reader.
The First Man in Rome begins the series and the reader is introduced to Gaius Marius, one of Rome's greatest and most successful generals. Wealthy but from a low born family. A man who has pulled himself up by his boot straps and on the other side of the coin, Cornelius Sulla, a man from well bred stock. Both men have a driving ambition, both want to be the `The First Man in Rome'. There ambition drives them forward and will lay the foundations for the greatest empire known to mankind.
This is a book of human frailties and also burning ambition. It has a cast of some of the most famous names to grace Roman history. The start of one of the greatest fictional sagas written in modern times and a most for all lovers of ancient history.
Book Review: The Start of an Epic Story
Summary: 5 Stars
Colleen McCullough was born in Australia. A neurophysicist, she established the department of neurophysiology at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney She then worked as a researcher and teacher at Yale Medical School for ten years. She is the author of the record-breaking international bestseller The Thorn Birds and her series of books on Rome have also been bestsellers. Colleen lives on Norfolk Island in the Pacific with her husband.
Colleen McCullough has been one of my favourite authors ever since I read this book many years ago. Her research on the subject and her feel for the period of history she is writing about is second to none. The only slight criticism that I have with the books on Rome and it is probably outside the author's control is that the books are so detailed that the number of characters that become part of the story is so large that it is sometimes difficult to keep track of them all, but this is a small price to pay for the enjoyment the books give the reader.
The First Man in Rome begins the series and the reader is introduced to Gaius Marius, one of Rome's greatest and most successful generals. Wealthy but from a low born family. A man who has pulled himself up by his boot straps and on the other side of the coin, Cornelius Sulla, a man from well bred stock. Both men have a driving ambition, both want to be the `The First Man in Rome'. There ambition drives them forward and will lay the foundations for the greatest empire known to mankind.
This is a book of human frailties and also burning ambition. It has a cast of some of the most famous names to grace Roman history. The start of one of the greatest fictional sagas written in modern times and a most for all lovers of ancient history.
Book Review: brimming with life
Summary: 5 Stars
Rarely has a work outside the usual scientific scope of the author demonstrated such perfection!
Colleen McCullough shows her love for ancient Rome with an attention to details that makes it almost a guidebook for the time traveller. You learn about Rome's constitution and jurisdiction, family trees of important houses, dining habits and the wars of the period. What I liked best was her portrayal of characters: straightforward intelligent Marius (much more so than most historian credit him with), homicidal but also tormented Sulla, choleric Metellus Numidicus, wise Gaius Caesar and his equally decent son, strong rational Aurelia (future mother of the most famous Caesar), and witty old Scaurus, to name but a few. In fact, some of them almost become like good friends.
I strongly recommend this work to any history scholar or frustrated Latin student. It brings Rome to life like no other book I have read. Continue with "The Grass Crown".