At its heart are two exceptional men: Gaius Marius, prosperous but lowborn, a proud and disciplined soldier emboldened by his shrewdness and self-made wealth; and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a handsome young aristocrat corrupted by poverty and vice.

Both are men of extraordinary vision, extreme cunning and ruthless ambition, but both are outsiders, cursed by the insurmountable opposition of powerful and vindictive foes.

If they forge an alliance, Marius and Sulla may just defeat their enemies, but only one of them can become First Man in Rome.

The battle for Rome has just begun.

Please note: This ebook contains all the original maps and illustration.

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File Size: 18912 KB
Print Length: 1154 pages
Publisher: Head of Zeus (December 17, 2013)
Publication Date: December 17, 2013
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B00KFDKSKO
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

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Word Wise: Enabled
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Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #485,757 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #19770 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction
- #44544 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

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Victor Vögel

Thrilling narrative, brings to life the characters and political intrigues of the Late Republic

September 16, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Historical fiction can be divided into two types: panoramic works that cover a broad swath of time, like the novels of James Michener and Ernest Rutherfurd; and works that treat a brief time period in great detail, like the novels of Hilary Mantel or Robert Harris. Colleen McCullough’s “First Man in Rome,” the action of which comprises the period from 110 BCE to 100 BCE, is of the latter type.

The initial book in Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series, “The First Man in Rome” tells the story of Marius and Sulla in the first years of their magistracies. The actions in this first book take place two generations before Julius Caesar, and we meet Julius Caesar’s grandfather and father (Julius Caesar himself is born is 100 BCE, the final year covered in this first book). Impressively, there is more to the book than just the story. McCullough calls herself a “one-woman band” because she has not only written the text, but has also created remarkable illustrations and maps found throughout the book. The 750-page story is also followed by an extensive and informative glossary (not to mention a pronunciation guide).

To appreciate McCullough’s assiduously researched novel, it is advantageous to possess some knowledge of Roman history (like knowing about cursus honorum, lustrum, patricians and plebeians, nomen and cognomen, Lares, Penates, the Gracchi brothers, Marcus Livius Drusus and Cato, for example). I found it helpful to look up unfamiliar concepts to gain a better appreciation of the narrative. There are many characters in the book, sometimes similarly named, and to keep them all straight, it is beneficial to know a bit about the historical relevance of the main characters.

McCullough’s novel is not only a thrilling narrative, but it brings to life in rich detail the characters and political intrigues at the heart of the Late Republic. You can learn more about – and gain a deeper appreciation of – the Late Republic from this novel than you can from a standard Western Civilization textbook or from non-fiction books covering the period such as Tom Holland’s “Rubicon.” I can’t wait to read the second book in the series!

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Chase G.

Quality historical fiction

December 27, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is filled with intrigue and interwoven character narratives, comparable to I, Claudius From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius Born 10 B.C. Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 (Vintage International). It is fairly light reading in spite of the length and dull moments are few and far between. Much of the time period is covered in Rubicon, which might be an interesting companion to this book and the series in general. It has been a while since I've read an actual history of the period and so I cannot comment on the degree of historical accuracy, but much of the detail is well researched.

Some of the characters and plot lines are more interesting than others but it is quite consistent throughout. Sulla's narrative has been the most interesting and well developed, whereas some of the more idealized characters such as Julia feel as though they are held at arms' length. Much of the letter writing is used to give context and describe events more quickly but may have been the weakest in terms of humanizing the characters. The book is sprinkled with side narratives which are often the most exciting points of the story. Some of the characters that only appear for a short time are surprisingly well developed. The tone of the book does not attempt to tell you who to root for. There are not many obvious villains and many of the small tragedies throughout are more profound because the narration style does not attempt to put a gloss on anything.

I already ordered The Grass Crown (book 2) before finishing this one.

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Peter J. Orvetti

An absolute must for Romanophiles

September 26, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is quite possibly my favorite novel, and I've read a lot of novels.

No, it is not great literature. But it is a magnificent accomplishment. McCullough self-taught herself about the history of Rome in the second and first centuries B.C.E., down to the smallest details, and put that world on the page in modern language that any reader can understand. It is true that those who are not Roman history buffs will probably not find a lot to love here, but for those who are, this is a seminal work -- in my view, the one work of fiction every Rome-lover needs to read.

McCullough wants to tell the story of how the Roman Republic fell, and does so over the course of seven novels of various quality. All are worth reading, but the first few in the series are the best. Men like Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla are not as well-known to moderns as are Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus, but it was the machinations of Marius and Sulla -- and the decisions they made in order to protect Rome, not knowing that they were creating the seeds for a period a generation later when the balance of power would irrevocably tip from elected leaders to generals -- that began the revolution.

McCullough creates real humans of these historic figures and those around them, and does not discount the women who are absent from the history books. She also meticulously documents her work with a lengthy glossary, and makes clear where she is basing her narrative on fact and where she has imagined events. It's an exceptional work.

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