A rather difficult book to get through since it is dealing mostly with the ins and outs of politics in the late Roman Republic. Still, it is interesting reading from the vantage point of the 21st century as it points out to us that politics have not really changed that much in the last 2,000 years. A great and powerful republic, a world power, can be controlled and subverted by a small group of individuals interested only in power for its own sake. The "popular" will and their votes can be manipulated to the point where their votes are essentially meaningless. A small, reactionary, conservative clique can, with supposedly good intentions of "making Rome great again", disrupt government to the point that it cannot act and is susceptible to an authoritarian figure who knows how to work the system to his/her own advantage. Does any of this sound familiar in the 21st century? As usual, I admire the way in which Colleen McCullough takes us into the life of the individuals involved and, even though we have the advantage of knowing what is going to happen, allows us to live in their time and experience events through their eyes.

Aunque un poco más lento en cuanto a acción (batallas, viajes, etc) ya que se centra en la época de César con una estadía algo prolongada en Roma, haciéndose nombre como político y líder. Sigue siendo una obra que nos da un recorrido sino real por lo menos bastante cercano a la realidad que nos sumerge en sus callejones, templetes y limes originales.

In Caesar's Women, McCullough finally hits her storytelling stride. Caesar really comes to life, and what a life that is. McCullough is a sympathetic biographer who persuasively fills in the historical outline for Caesar's political career in the fourth novel in her Masters of Rome series, covering roughly ten years. The novel reflects the important women in his life, his mother Aurelia, his daughter Julia, and his mistress Servilia, with minor roles played by his last two wives Pomponia and Calpurnia. The title also alludes to Caesar's prolific female conquests, which McCullough imagines came about due to a marriage between Caesar's strong sexual appeal to women of all classes and his political need to take his rivals down a notch (as well as to prove that he wasn't gay, which was whispered by his envious rivals to a homophobic Roman society).

McCullough admits in her author's note that this novel has the richest historical source material, thereby being much covered by modern writers but also allowing her to detail the patrician Roman woman's life better. It's rather telling that McCullough has convinced this modern woman, who disdains powerful philanderers and suspects sexual psychopathy in individuals who hurt others through repeated casual use, that Caesar not only cared for the women in his life, but that they fully accepted who and what he was. Roman wives of the pre-Christian era expected their husbands to be incontinent; sex was a male bodily hunger that had little to do with marriage. Moreover, marriage was a legal relationship that didn't require fidelity on the man's part.

Besides showing Caesar's domestic relationships, which underpin his political life, McCullough weaves a story of his increasingly hostile interactions with the boni, a group of ultra-conservative Senators who oppose anything Caesar does out of personal animosity. Caesar intends to be the First Man in Rome, to enlarge his personal dignitas until it is synonymous with Rome's, but he wants to make Rome greater in doing so. The boni, however, are quite determined to prevent any man from being greater than his peers. They simultaneously acknowledge Caesar's greater ability while insisting that he can't be greater than they are. They fear that he will make himself a king.

For modern political junkies, reading the ever-increasing dysfunction of the Roman Republic's last days is quite eye-opening. Roman government grinds to a standstill as powerful Senators maneuver to block one another, or bribe electors and jurists, or interpret law to suit their exigencies, or manipulate legal calendars to take advantage of magistrates' short terms in office. Caesar, while a catalyst for some of the filibustering and gridlock, is also capable of cutting the Gordian knot and ruling with a firm, brilliant hand. Although it takes years, decades even, to bring Caesar to his breaking point, McCullough painstakingly lays the groundwork for his famous ride over the Rubicon and his eventual assassination by his implacable, envious enemies.

The 4th of McCullough's magisterial 'Master of Rome' series, this for me is the best. She reconstructs Caesar's early career from his return from Spain after the death of his first wife, till he leaves for Gaul.

Because this is an era which is both little known and yet relatively well-documented, McCullough does an excellent job of sticking to the sources without ever sacrificing imagination and drama. Here she gets to grips not just with life in the Senate amongst the men, but also in the houses of Rome amongst the women: Caesar's formidable mother Aurelia, his lovely and adoring daughter Julia and his spiteful mistress Servilia.

Detailed, fascinating, slightly romaticised and yet compelling this is completely unputdownable.

2.5 stars

Let's start with the pros:

This book was very well researched, I can tell how much time the author put in with sources, thinking about the political intrigue of the time, etc. I was very impressed by the sheer amount of history that went into this historical novel. Usually historical fiction is more loosely based on what actually happened, not so with this book.

I really enjoyed the author's portrayals of the Cataline Conspiracy and Bona Dea scandal, they were my favorite parts of the book.

Now for the cons:

Honestly, there was TOO much historical context in this book in my opinion. It made it, well, boring. There were a lot of parts I skimmed because it was page upon page of just pure history. That may be your thing, but I didn't care for it. Don't get me wrong, I love my history, but I'd rather it be in a non-fiction format rather than a novel.

The book is misnamed. Yes, Caesar's women are in this book and yes there are clear spots where they matter. But I would say that only about 40% of the book was actually about women or how they impacted the storyline. Not what I was expecting. I wish the author had focused more on the women rather than on Caesar as that would have been a new take. That being said, doing this would have necessitated the author the take more artistic liberty with the storyline since there aren't as many historical sources regarding women as there are the men who ran Rome.

If you want a faster paced, albeit more fictional (with less historical context), I recommend reading Robert Harris' Cicero series (Imperium, Lustrum, Dictator). It focuses on the same time period from Cicero's slave's perspective. Very enjoyable.

The fourth book in Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series paints an incredible picture of late republic era Rome. This entry mainly focuses on the events in Rome and dives into the more domestic side of these almost larger than life figures. What stands out to me the most is how personal McCullough makes the characters. They spring to life and I find myself rooting for Caesar and against his enemies. She also makes evident his failings though and at times I wonder how I can even stand him when he literally proclaims himself to be a god.
All in all Colleen brings Roman history to life and draws the reader in. I know there is still a lot to learn about Rome, but fell as if I have learned a lot and enjoyed the process as well.

-Con todos ustedes…¡el preferido de McCullough!.-

Género. Novela histórica.

Lo que nos cuenta. Pompeyo es el primer hombre de Roma en este momento pero su carácter ha evolucionado y ahora se siente por encima del Senado merced a su gran visión de sí mismo y de su alianza política con el exitoso Craso y el fascinante Cayo Julio César, un joven este último que demuestra toda clase de recursos en su camino, lento pero inexorablemente seguro a pesar de los obstáculos, hacia la cima. Cuarto volumen de la serie Señores de Roma.

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Powered through it solely because I was genuinely curious about Julius Caesar's life. But for a book called 'Caesar's Women' there was not much focus on the women in the book at all; most of these women were, of course, mentioned in relation to how they interacted with Caesar, but I would have liked to see more from the POVs of the women.

There was also too much entirely of political drivel. Definitely not something for a casual fan of Roman history. Strange to have to read through Cicero's and Clodius's POVs as well given that none of these people were Caesar. For some reason I was rooting more for Cicero over Caesar.

4.5 ⭐️
Such a big book, and so much happens. In this book there's little military action, not much conquering, and lots of scheming, plotting, and manipulating.
McCullough is an excellent storyteller. She transforms detailed research into fascinating stories using both fact and reasonable speculations. She makes historical figures come to life in that make them more relatable than any history class ever could.
The Romans are fascinating, but she makes reading about them a joy.

Honestly speaking am exhausted reading this series already. With over 5000+ pages over 4 books it takes your toll.

Not that everything is racy and engrossing. The author goes into too many historical details of how the Senate worked and it's tactical issues. This is where you feel the pace of this book drags on.

The author seems clearly smitten with Julius Caesar. He is clearly the hero in the book who can do no wrong. All his manipulations are subtly put aside.

Time for a break from the series for sure. But all in all a thoroughly well researched book, surely not a classic.

Go for it only if you are academically inclined towards reading a historical fiction about the times of Caesar.

Fabulosa recreación del final de la República romana.
No tan brillante como el magristal 1o de la saga, tampoco como el muy buen 2o, pero por encima del 3o de la saga.
Maniobras, maquinaciones, trampas y crónica rosa.
Lo que debía ser la política romana de la época.
Muy bien escrito y mejor documentado.

This is a good book, but probably my least favorite in the series (so far). It covers Caesar's early political career, before he went to Gaul and became the Dictator we know and love today. Indeed, it has a bit less military excitement, but plenty of political intrigue to make up for it. So what were my objections?

1. Caesar, the main character, is too perfect. Somehow, this power-hungry demagogue, who was (probably) a part of the major conspiracies of the period that tried to overthrow the Roman state, is portrayed as a good guy. I'm at best an armchair historian, but it takes a very motivated look at the history to cast Caesar in a good light.

In this "Caesar's Women" suffers in comparison to it's immediate predecessor: In "Fortune's Favorites", we see the rise and fall of Sulla, so far the greatest(?) Roman to have lived. We see the good and bad in him (mostly bad), his plotting, his mistakes, and his genuine attempts to repair the Roman state. Finally, we get to watch it all be torn down by another upstart, Pompey. It's a compelling story filled with many flawed characters. In this book, in the same number of pages, we see just a narrow slice of Caesar's career, and Caesar does nothing but win. It almost feels like Colleen is writing fan-fiction.

I hope the next book allows Caesar to fail a bit more. The Gallic and Civil wars are so interesting because Caesar was frequently challenged, made and recovered from mistakes, and pulled himself through with a combination of luck and skill. The portrayal of a "Golden Boy Striding Confidently Through History, Towards His Destiny" detracts from the drama, rather than adds.

2. Cicero is portrayed as a bit of a fool. It seems a shame to cast Rome's greatest statesman in this light, but history seems to be a bit of a zero sum game, so where Caesar wins Cicero looses.

In Colleen's defense, she dedicates a good deal of the Author's note at the end to defending her choice for both characterizations: Read it! These notes, plus the appendices, are some of the best part of these series. Briefly, her argument is while modern historians tend to lionize Cicero, most contemporary sources did not hold him in such regard. Similarly, the sources on Caesar for these years of Roman History are probably colored by by his later seizure of power, so his participation in the Catiline conspiracy might be more conjecture than fact.

Recommendations: For a different (more heroic) take on Cicero and the events of the late Roman republic, I recommend the series starting with Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome. There are plenty of biographies of all of these figures, those by Anthony Everitt are my favorite.