Greatly informative series.
The novel rapidly becomes a detailed biography of Julius Caesar, and a worthy biography at that, flavored by plenty of action, historical and fictional, and a variety of fascinating characters - again, some historical and well represented, some fictional and well rounded. Very good series!

The first of Caesar’s women on the scene is Servilia, fussing over teenaged Brutus on the way to visit Aurelia, mother of Julius Caesar and Julia. Julia, only eight years old, is pretty and charming, and Brutus begs his mother to petition for her hand in marriage. Brutus has a liking for Uncle Cato, who is too low-born for Servilia’s liking. Into their company strides Caesar, fresh from Spain.
Servilia proposes a betrothal between Brutus and little Julia, while the parents begin an affair. 100 pirate war galleys attack Rome’s port of Ostia, steal the grain ships and capture two praetors. To great acclaim, the Plebs commission Pompey with imperium to tackle piracy in all the oceans, which he accomplishes admirably.
The plot moves through the Catiline Conspiracy, the Vettius Affair, a campaign against King Tigranes of Armenia. As well as Julius Caesar and his family, Pompey Magnus and Publius Clodius feature heavily. Caesar’s enmity with Marcus Porcius Cato continues.
I can’t possibly summarise the plot. The plot is ten years of Roman history (68BCE-58BCE), told from up close and personal. The detail is amazing. The precise method the Vestal Virgins used for storing wills. The ‘ripe and shady’ ladies Sempronia Tuditani and Palla ‘gave the best fellatio in Rome’. Lucullus ‘experimented with soporific and ecstatic substances’. Julius Caesar drank no wine’. Did Brutus really have bad acne? Was Pompeia Sulla really terrible in bed? Was Cato really afraid of spiders and his sister Porcia of beetles? McCullough either has a rich imagination, or she was there herself, reading the wall graffiti. Either way, Roman history really comes to life. The rendering of the ins and outs, ups and down of Roman politics reveals a deep understanding not just of Roman history but of human character.
It is Julius Caesar’s Voice we hear, a lot of the time, a difficult proposition for a character whom everyone knows was such a tough cookie.
The cast of characters, each with a complex name, genealogy and familial and political affiliation, would be as daunting as in the first two books, if it were not that this Book 3 of the series largely zooms in on the stories of Caesar’s women.
There is excellent weaving of backstory into the dialogue and details of history into intimate and sometimes wittily chatty letters from one person to another.
It is TOO long—964 pages! but if you love Roman history, it’s a must read, though after about page 600, it becomes a bit long.

As we continue our journey through Caesar's life, he gains more and more power and influence. His ambition and slyness help him raise to the top of the society, from where he ruthlessly dominates everyone around him. And while he is no longer the charming boy that was introduced in the earlier books of the series, he is nevertheless a fascinating figure.
My only concern with this book was actually the title. I did find it a bit misleading, because I was expecting more details on Caesar's official wives and mistresses. However, his relationships with women are covered by approximately 1/4 of the book (perhaps even less). His political games were covered more extensively, therefore I do believe a more suitable title would have made more sense.

Essendo quasi tutto incentrato sulla figura di Cesare e sui personaggi più prossimi a lui, questo quarto capitolo della serie risulta meno avvincente dei precedenti.
Siamo negli anni della Congiura di Catilina, sventata da Cicerone, che fa approvare un Senatus consultum ultimum che Cesare gli dimostrerà essere un'arma a doppio taglio.
Cesare è ormai al centro dell'arena politica e tutti i suoi sforzi sono incentrati sull'obiettivo di farsi eleggere console e di farsi assegnare la provincia della Gallia Cisalpina e dell'Illiria l'anno successivo come proconsole per conquistare le terre settentrionali verso est, fino ad arrivare da nord al Ponto, in modo da eguagliare, se non superare, le conquiste di Pompeo.
Intanto, dopo la morte di Quinto Cecilio Metello Pio detto il Porcellino, Cesare si è trasferito con le sue donne - sua madre Aurelia, sua figlia Giulia e sua moglie Pompea Silla - nella Domus Publica in qualità di Pontifex Maximus. Qui abitano le vestali, che diventano così anche loro dei membri della famiglia di Cesare. A causa dell'ingresso clandestino di Publio Clodio nella Domus Publica mentre si celebrano i riti della Dea Bona, da cui ogni uomo è interdetto - tanto che lo stesso Cesare è andato a dormire fuori - Cesare si vede costretto a ripudiare la moglie Pompea Silla - che pure considera innocente - con la frase che diviene celebre: La moglie di Cesare, come tutta la famiglia di Cesare, deve essere al di sopra dei sospetti.
Per lo stesso motivo non vorrà sposare la sua amante storica, Servilia, la madre di Bruto, quando resterà vedova di Silano. Bruto è fidanzato a Giulia da quando lui aveva quattordici anni e lei otto, ma adesso che lei sta per raggiungere l'età per sposarsi, la ragazza vorrebbe posporre le nozze, dal momento che prova per il fidanzato - innamoratissimo - solo un tiepido affetto. Quando Cesare scoprirà verso chi vanno i sentimenti di Giulia, ne approfitterà perché, sebbene Bruto sia ricchissimo e abbia ereditato il tesoro dei Cepioni, quest'alleanza politica gli fa molto più comodo nell'immediato futuro.
Il libro si conclude con Cesare che lascia le sue donne per partire alla volta della Gallia, dove scriverà il capitolo conosciuto come De bello gallico.

I picked this monstrously thick novel up at my used book store. I am a sucker for history, and this seemed like a unique perspective. It follows the sordid and frequently raucous adventures of historically significant Gaius Julius Caesar. We meet his mother; his not infrequent lovers and mistresses; his wife; and we learn of the incredibly intense politicking that makes a lot of what happens in our politically-divided contemporary society much more understandable, and, sadly, lamentable. This is a story of blind, driven, and historically-documented ambition. Caesar is a man with one goal in mind, complete power, and his every action is driven toward that end. In-between come the sorted affairs that make the book a pleasure to read, at least for me. Based on many historical truths, I found the book intriguing, albeit a little long in the tooth.

This book was an absolute beast to get through but honestly worth it. I am astounded by the amount of detail in it- the research McCullough must have conducted is incredibly impressive. It did have little to do with Caesar’s women though- a spotlight was cast, but the book encompassed everyone in Caesar’s life at the time. And I really mean everyone. I feel like I’ve gotten to know half of the ancient Roman senate, and I’m grateful that the author made them each hilariously human despite their long names and legacies.

"Caesar is no Marius, take my word for it, Caesar is another Sulla, and that is far, far worse."

"Not even a mind as huge as Cicero's could outthink a mind like Caesar's. Why was it that these incredibly old families could still throw up a Sulla or a Caesar?"

Caesar's wife, like Caesar's family, must be above suspicion"

Having been fascinated by Julius Caesar for a better part of my life, these words brought a smile. For they were so true and fitting to his personality.

A lot of people here are not satisfied with the title of this book. But I find it fitting. Caesar was always surrounded by women, they would readily give up their lives and their husbands' for Caesar, such was his charisma. However, it was not just that. Caesar was a product of his mother's staunch, a bit stoic life she led. Aurelia, besides being his mother, was Caesar's strength. The nobility, the dignitas the proverbial Roman-ness came from Aurelia who herself was so. And how can we forget his scandalous and immortal affair with Servilia! Caesar was always surrounded by powerful and beautiful women.

Most importantly, this book has set the course for Caesar and what he is to become -- the greatest Roman of all. Had the republic not hated him for his virtue, he would never have surpassed Lucius Cornellius Sulla and Gaius Marius and wouldn't that have been a blessing?!

I particularly loved how McCullough did not digress too much with Caesar. That is the most common mistake with historians and historical fiction writers. With personality as charismatic and as big as Caesar, historical fiction writers often lose the touch for Caesar was beyond anyone's wildest imagination and the writers can only try to grasp him in their words. McCullough remained grounded to her research and made careful assumptions from the historical texts. Caesar was the most hated man among the senate, so much so that the boni wanted to kill him. (Did I reveal it too soon!). It was easy to be diverted after reading Cicero and Cato's version of history.

This book is an interesting read for someone who really wants to understand how and why the boni -- the faction-- went against the likes of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Gaius Julius Caesar. Why the formation of triumvirate? But for most importantly, it describes the time and struggle, the strife that turned Caesar into a cold and brutal military general.

"Perché non dovrebbero piangere? [...] Sono come noi, donne di Cesare. Condannate a restare a casa ad aspettare il ritorno del nostro signore e padrone".

Chi, fuorviato dal titolo, si aspetta di trovare un libro incentrato sulle donne o persino un retelling femminista, resterà profondamente deluso: questa è una storia di uomini al potere, sui quali Cesare brilla come nessun altro. Una (dettagliatissima) seduta del Senato dopo l'altra, un intrigo politico dietro l'altro, Cesare riesce ad avere sempre la meglio e ad imporsi su tutti, dimostrando di meritare il proprio ruolo nella Storia. La sua figura si alterna a quelle, descritte con enorme maestria, di Cicerone, Pompeo, Crasso, Clodio e moltissimi altri, che si muovono e complottano in una Roma ricostruita con un'accuratezza a tratti estrema, soprattutto per quanto riguarda gli usi e la politica.
E le donne, in tutto ciò? Alcune memorabili (Servilia, Aurelia), altre solo di passaggio, occupano uno spazio relativamente marginale all'interno della storia, ma ogni paragrafo riservato a loro è un gioiello narrativo: il capitolo sullo scandalo della dea Bona, in particolare, è uno spaccato perfetto della loro vita e della loro mentalità.

Colleen McCollough ha ricostruito talmente bene la Roma dell'epoca, che una volta chiuso il libro si fa fatica a tornare nella propria realtà. Tuttavia bisogna ammettere che, nonostante il livello altissimo, a tratti bisogna esercitare la propria pazienza di lettori, soprattutto durante le (ripeto, DETTAGLIATISSIME) sedute del Senato. In ogni caso si tratta di un'opera come poche, a cui sicuramente si ripensa parecchio dopo averla letta.

Yet another fabulous entry in the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough. It is simply astounding how the author manages to sustain the stamina and attention of her readers over the many thousands of pages that make up this series. The work is so thoroughly documented that we can only incline our heads in admiration.
This instalment is as rich in events and characters as the the previous three. Given its title the emphasis is on the women who surround Caesar ; Aurelia, the stern but loving mother, Servilia, the enthusiastic and coldly ambitious lover, Julia, the angelic daughter and her child-mother Cornelia, the Vestal Virgins, all these women hover around Caesar in mutual fascination.
But there are portraits of men here too, other than Caesar himself. Cato is predictably portrayed as a near-crazed reactionary fanatic and Cicero is very far from the positive portrayals of him to be found elsewhere.
Like all the other books thus far, this is an outstanding achievement and I highly recommend it.

ok yeah i read this one too. i feel a little feverish (not like in a covid way, but in a 'i'm over saturated with rome content way')! three more books and ~2400 pages to go!!!

anyways this is the point in the series where you realize Colleen McCullough is horny for Julius Caesar kinda like how Diana Gabaldon is horny for Jamie in Outlander. is there a name for this phenomenon, where the author very clearly wants to have sex with their literary creation? it's, like, Pygmalion-esque. idk. anywoo, 5/5 stars.

Sullo sfondo di una Roma repubblicana affrescata con dovizia di particolari e rigore documentario dalla scrittrice, si staglia in tutto il suo fascino la figura del giovane Cesare agli inizi della carriera politica.
Il suo carisma, unito all'ambizione e alla mancanza di scrupoli, ne fanno il centro dell'esistenza delle figure femminili che lo circondano e gli spianano la via verso una inarrestabile ascesa nella vita pubblica.
Senza dubbio una lettura interessante per chi ama i romanzi ad ambientazione storica, ma a mio avviso la ridondanza di informazioni su personaggi ed eventi dell'epoca rallenta lo scorrere della vicenda principale e intiepidisce l'attenzione del lettore.

The Masters of Rome book series leaves me wanting. Although the minutiae of Rome is presented in choking detail—and Colleen McCullough deserves credit for the amount of research she did in preparation for this series—the writing is excessively clinical, and rarely do any of the characters make you feel anything. As far as history lessons go, these books are probably more entertaining than your average textbook—but just barely. I also find that McCullough has an unconscious female aversion to lingering too long on descriptions of battle or bloodshed, and is much more comfortable describing speeches in the forum, political intrigue, and scenes in the boudoir. While The First Man in Rome and The Grass Crown sparked my interest in Gaius Marius and Sulla respectively, Fortune's Favorites and Caesar's Women failed to do so for Pompey and J.C. The problem is that, at nearly a thousand pages in length per, these books treat the subjects far too exhaustively, and include far too much extraneous detail. Having read the greater half of this series, I feel like I know more than I ever wanted to know about Roman history, and then some. Caesar's Women in particular would probably benefit from an abridged version, as well as a less corny title.