The First Man in Rome [Hardcover]

Colleen McCullough (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1990

With astounding narrative power, Colleen Mccullough--author of the internationally acclaimed #1 bestseller "The Thorn Birds"--sweeps the reader into the whirlpool of pageantry, passion, splendor, chaos and earth-shattering upheaval that was ancient Rome.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If nothing else, this hefty tome, the first of a projected series, proves that McCullough ( The Thornbirds ) can write a serious historical novel that edifies while it entertains. Evoking with impeccably researched, meticulous detail the political and social fabric of Rome in the last days of the Republic, McCullough demonstrates a thoroughgoing understanding of an age in which birth and blood lines determine one's fate, and the auctoritas and dignitas of the Roman family mean more than any personal relationship. When the narrative opens in 110 B.C., this rigidly stratified social order has begun to erode. The protagonist, Gaius Marius, is the symbol of that gradual change. He is the embodiment of the novel's title, a genuine New Man who transcends his Italian origins and earns the ultimate political accolade--the consulship--for an unprecedented six terms. A brilliant military leader, Marius defeats the invading barbarian German tribes. Wily, shrewd and pragmatic, Marius is not above using bribery and chicanery to achieve political ends. Nor, indeed, are his fellow officials, whose sophisticated machinations are in odd juxtaposition with their penchant for jeering at one another, which leads to fisticuffs, brawls and even assassinations. As usual, McCullough tells a good story, describing political intrigue, social infighting and bloody battles with authoritative skill, interpolating domestic drama and even a soupcon of romance. The glossary alone makes fascinating reading; in it, for example, McCullough reasons that Roman men did not wear "under-drawers." The narrative's measured pace, however, is further slowed by the characters' cumbersome names, which require concentrated attention. Those willing to hunker down for a stretch of close reading will be rewarded with a memorable picture of an age with many aspects that share characteristics ontemporaneous with our own. Maps and illustrations by the author. 300,000 first printing; BOMC main selection; author tour. (Oct.).
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This big, complex novel detailing the beginnings of the downfall of the Roman Republic is a startling change of pace for McCullough ( The Thorn Birds, LJ 5/1/77). Gaius Marius, an upstart New Man from the Italian provinces, and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a patrician Roman brought up in the slums of the Subura, are both ambitious enough to want to become First Man in Rome, despite their social handicaps. The author deftly weaves politics, family rivalries, and battle scenes into a riveting story replete with fascinating details of everyday Roman life. The research is obviously painstaking; the author includes a large glossary of more than 100 pages as well as a pronunciation key for the Roman names. Highly recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/90. BOMC main selection.
- Marilyn Jordan, North Miami P.L., Fla.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 896 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (September 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068809368X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688093686
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (175 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Colleen McCullough was born in Australia. A neuropathologist, she established the department of neurophysiology at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney before working as a researcher and teacher at Yale Medical School for ten years. Her writing career began with the publication of Tim, followed by The Thorn Birds, a record-breaking international bestseller. She lives on Norfolk Island in the South Pacific with her husband, Ric Robinson.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

171 of 176 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best historical fiction I have ever read, December 3, 1999

By 

Doug Vaughn - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The First Man in Rome (Mass Market Paperback)

Nothing prepared me for the complexity, depth and shear sense of reality that Colleen McCullogh's The First Man in Rome provided. I have read a lot of historical fiction and was used to authors routinely ignoring the real nitty gritty of daily life in previous ages in order to get on with their story. McCollogh manages to infuse a lively plot with a significant amount of period lore, domestic detail and even hitorical exposition without ever losing the reader's interest. Her characters and their story - taken straight from history - manage to be both larger than life and believably human at the same time.

Among the devices she uses to achieve a kind of verisimilitude are imagined conversations, letters, and maps (drawn by her own hand). Where there are unknowns in the historical record, her inventions are based on careful research and are, if not correct, certainly plausible.

I can't praise this book (and the four that follow it in the series) highly enough. Standing in the remains of the original forum in Rome last year, I felt as if I had actually experienced that place before. So much of the story told in these books takes place in the limited confines of the forum and the nearby Palitine and Capitoline hills, and her description of the space was so accurate - even with the passage of two thousand years - that it was easy to imagine how it must have looked then.

Anyone who loves historical fiction - that is, real history presented in novel form - owes it to themselves to experience this book. It is both a work of scholarship and a great imaginative achievement written by a master of language. No story totally invented could be half as interesting as this tale of real people that McCollough brings to life in these pages. A great book.

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant historical fiction., November 5, 2002

By 

Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The First Man in Rome (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a great book. It presents the reader with a dazzling image of ancient Rome, in fact I literally felt transported back to the Rome of the time of Marius. After reading all of McCullough's "Masters of Rome" books (those written as of this date) this one is still my favorite. I've read a fair amount about Rome, but no book that I have read has ever explained Rome's politics and social structure half as well as this one.

Marius is shown as what he was: a giant. I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with McCullough's portrayal of Sulla, but each reader can make that decision for him or her self. This book covers the time period as from shortly before the Jugurthine War (which I never really understood until I read this book) to slightly after Marius' conquest of the German tribes. But this isn't just a book about wars. McCullough takes the readers into the Senate, into private conversations of Roman (and foreign) leaders, and really tries to get at the guts of what was going on in the Roman Republic at this critical stage of its history. Mostly, she succeeds brilliantly.

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, one of the best in the series, January 7, 2000

By 

Inna Goldenberg - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Man in Rome (Mass Market Paperback)

I throughly enjoyed "The First Man in Rome". It is a great historical novel with timeless appeal. So far, I have read three novels in the Masters of Rome Series, the other two were "Caesar's Women" and "Caesar: The Novel". Of these three, "The First Man in Rome" is the best.

I especially enjoyed the characters in this novel. While "Caesar", for example, was completely devoid of character development, this novel is overflowing with wonderful and well-structured character portraits. I was particularly impressed by Sulla. Instead of portraying him as a wild psychopath that he undoubtedly was, Colleen McCullough turned him into a psychopath with a tender side. Her description of his childhood and especially his relationship with his tutor brought tears to my eyes. Although Sulla is quite despicable in his action, McCullough uncovers a complex person under all the madness. A great achievement!

I also appreciated her depiction of Gaius Marius. In history class, I learned that he was extremely lucky but rather unremarkable in his talent. That never sat well with me because I thought that even if he wasn't a genius, he must have been capable enough to secure the number of consulships that he had. McCullough very nicely goes into Gaius Marius' head and examines how and what is driving him.

Not all the characters were well-developed. Julia or Julia Major was extremely boring and could have used more complexity because she appears to be such a paragon of virtue that she does not seem human. Jugurtha also suffered because in the book he is too one-dementional. That's too bad since he is quite fascinating.

Most other characters are sublime: from Metellus Numidicus (Piggle-wiggle) to Scaurus to Saturninus to Julilla or Julia Minor to Drusus to Aurelia. At first, I was against the idea that McCullough create Julilla but after reading "The First Man in Rome" I realized how well she served the author's purpose. Also, her ordeal is quite heart-breaking.

I was a little bit disappointed by Colleen McCullough's depiction of the political scene. Everyone who read Masters of Rome series said that the best political novel in the series is "The First Man in Rome". I disagree. Although McCullough writes wonderfully about political squabbles in Rome, she mostly uses letters and dialogues between characters to relate these events to the readers. Although she is extremely good at letter- and speech-writing, in "Caesar's Women" she actually describes what goes on as it happens. This helps with absorbing the atmosphere and also captivates the readers better.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Roman political history or Ancient history in general. The Masters of Rome series is superb and I hope Colleen McCullough will continue to add on to the series for many years to come.