The First Man in Rome: Marius-4 Cassettes [Gekürzte Ausgabe] [Englisch] [Hörkassette]

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.

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.