4.5 stars. This book is definitely more enjoyable than the previous one (Fortune's Favorites) probably because the plot is more streamlined and well paced. The focus of the narrative is more on political intrigue rather than military campaigns, making it more interesting than previous books, in my opinion. Caesar comes across as ferociously intelligent, highly capable, self - centred, manipulative, unscrupulous, ruthless, but makes for interesting reading. Cicero's section in the first half was immensely enjoyable, especially how he tried to root out the Catilina conspiracy. However, flirting with the boni (the ultraconservatives, i. e., Caesar's opponents) ultimately gets him in deep trouble. Looking forward to getting back to the Cicero Trilogy after finishing this series. Reading about the eccentric, relentless and bull headed Cato was very entertaining. He is totally immune to corruption, coercion, intimidation and probably slightly unstable. He would bull headedly advocate what he believed to be the right and would inevitably be outwitted by his more astute political opponents. Can't help but grudgingly admire the transparent directness of his intentions and motivations, especially when surrounded by his peers with shifting loyalties and hidden agendas. In the latter half of the book he becomes the leader of the boni. Politically, his biggest drawback is his lack of vision and political acumen when pitted against Caesar. However, the whole boni vs Caesar does get annoying after a while. The constant boni assault also changes Ceasar over the course of the book, making him less easygoing, intolerant and more autocratic. Servilia is as monstrous as ever. At one point, I actually felt sorry for her, something I didn't think was possible. Clodius (and Fulvia) are detestable and absolutely loathsome. Clodius is definitely unstable. Compared to him even Cato comes out to be highly sane and stable. I shudder to think what shenanigans he'll be up to next. Now onto the next!

Whenever I complete a book from the Masters of Rome series, I never cease to wonder the talent that lay in the hands of Colleen McCullough who could turn more than 2000-year old history into such a fascinating piece of work, as if she stood there, right at the doorsteps of the Roman Forum, soaking in the politics, the gossips, the wars of Ancient Rome. Caesar’s Women brings us to a newer age of Rome, moving away from the previous three books where Gaius Marius and Cornelius Sulla took centre-stage for most times. It is now Caesar, and Caesar alone who is going to bring to life the stories of Colleen McCullough. It takes a bit of time though to reach to the real Caesar, as if Colleen McCullough wanted to give a flavour of Rome without him too, for once Caesar comes in the frame, it is difficult to look anywhere else. A man driven by his desire to be the best Roman the world has seen, a savvy politician, a sharp tactician, nonetheless burdened by those that feared his growing power. The book takes us through the journey of a mature Caesar who is coming close to his year as consul, as his sharpness of mind starts to make him stand apart from the crowd. A bit of Sulla, a bit of Marius, you will find, but Caesar still has his own personality that would make you dream of having lived in Ancient Rome and walked by his side. Oh, the energy that must have seeped through him!

As the title of the book suggests, many female characters do occupy a prominent position in this story. Caesar’s mother has always been a force to be reckoned with, but now we also meet his daughter Julia and the lady Servilia whose path will intersect with Caesar a lot. We get to see the roles these women played in Caesar’s life, the manner in which they influenced his decisions, and how instrumental they were in his rise. Oh, but no book on Rome is complete without the political entanglements, and Caesar’s Women continues to hold colourful and exciting stories on that front too as have the previous three books. New names emerge, old names remain, those with ties to Caesar, those who would do anything to see him fail. And we do read more on young Brutus, the lad who will play a critical role in Caesar’s history.

An extraordinary book, though I would rate it slightly below the previous three that I have read. Maybe Colleen McCullough has spoilt us with the grand narratives of Gaius Marius and Cornelius Sulla, that I missed them now. It took time for me to accept Caesar as the centre of the story. As an old man who would look at the stars and dream of the world gone by, I too felt a pang in my heart when those names I had become familiar with in Colleen McCullough’s first three books now were a memory, as a new generation takes over the Roman Forum and fights its own brand of politics. Pompey the Great is no longer the kid of the Butcher, trying hard to make a name for himself and feel accepted, but a veteran and the First Man of Rome. Ahh, how times change! But now that I have soaked in Caesar's world, I am truly excited about reading the next book, for it would be another great adventure that cannot be missed...

Loves this book, especially the additional historical notes accompanying each chapter which were fascinating. I’ve read all the novels in the series but this one is my favourite. Laughing at all the 2 and 1 star reviews here who have misspelled “Caesar” lol!

Se Alberto Angela e E. L.James avessero un figlio sarebbe questo romanzo qui.

Più o meno tutti, a scuola, abbiamo studiato la storia di Roma e di quell'uomo che, nel 49d. C, superò il fiume Rubicone pronunciano la famosa frase "alea iacta est". Il dado è tratto: Cesare, varcando con l'esercito il simbolico confine tra Roma e la Gallia Cisalpina, fece un affronto al Senato, disconoscendone l'autorità.

La storia che viene raccontata qui è tutto ciò che precede quel momento.
Da quando Cesare a 36 anni torna alla Suburra dall'adorata figlia Giulia e dalla venerata madre Aurelia, fino alla sua ripartenza - dopo aver ricoperto cariche sempre più importanti, come voleva il cursus honorum- per la Gallia. Dieci anni della vita di quest'uomo e delle donne che hanno gravitato intorno a lui.
Perché le donne, al pari degli uomini o forse anche di più, sono state fondamentali per la sua ascesa, per la costruzione di alleanze o per sventare congiure.
La prima è Servilia, è lei che apre il libro, in una scena che svela il suo carattere: rimprovera il figlio, con fare deciso, quel figlio che è la luce dei suoi occhi e che è Bruto. (Sì, quel Bruto, quello del "tu quoque?", delle 43 coltellate). È una donna razionale, lucida, severissima. Fiera delle proprie origini, che vede infangate dal fratellastro Catone.
È a casa di Aurelia, insieme ad altre donne, per il consueto incontro settimanale, quando Cesare torna e tra i due scatta qualcosa.
Un'attrazione puramente fisica, potentissima, che entrambi vivono con intensità e discrezione, ma senza coinvolgimento emotivo. Almeno all'inizio.
Grazie a Cesare, la donna "di marmo, ghiaccio e gradito" si scioglierà e conoscerà le gioie del sesso. E, suo malgrado, un amore mai corrisposto.

La seconda è Popilia, sposata su consiglio di Aurelia per assicurarsi prestigio e patrimonio, per avanzare nel sogno di gloria. Tra le donne di Cesare è quella che brillerà meno, da cui divorzierà nel momento in cui la sua reputazione rischia di essere messa in discussione (è il periodo in cui Cesare è Pontifex Maximus e si occupa delle Vestali).

La terza (ultima in ordine di arrivo) è Calpurnia, la diciottenne che sposa dopo  che la sua Giulia è diventata la moglie di Pompeo.

E Giulia è la quarta-prima nel suo cuore-, figlia tranquilla, perfetta, importantissima. Sia per il puro legame di sangue  che per il ruolo nella vicenda : senza di lei non ci sarebbe stato Bruto, e con lui Servilia (che oltre ad essere comagna di letto, porterà alle sue orecchie importanti informazioni) e l'appoggio che ne deriva.
E ancora di più  lo sarà quando, rompendo il fidanzamento con Bruto, si legherà a Pompeo: accecato dall'amore per Giulia, prometterà al futuro suocero la Gallia Cisalpina quando verrà il momento.

E poi c'e lei, la mater, Aurelia. Onnipresente nelle decisioni del figlio. Lo sostiene, lo consiglia, lo anticipa.Sa che quel figlio è destinato alla grandezza e fa tutto quello che è necessario per aiutarlo. (Se Giulia si lega a Pompeo, se Cesare non sposa Servilia, è anche grazie a questa donna lungimirante).

Cornelia merita un discorso a parte, perché è un ricordo nel cuore del futuro imperatore, è stata la prima moglie, la più amata e strappata troppo presto alla vita,un fiore reciso anzitempo che è la causa, almeno secondo la fantasia dell'autrice, dell'incapacità di amare di Cesare;Cornelia fa sentire il peso dell'assenza e troppe volte mi è sembrato venisse usata come scusa-scudo per rendere più veritiero il cuore di ghiaccio di Cesare.

Le donne aprono e chiudono il romanzo, in una scena speculare: la prima volta sono tutte insieme e Cesare è di ritorno, l'ultima sono insieme, ma l'uomo amato è partito, sta andando in Gallia, e per lui, per la riuscita della sua impresa, pregheranno la più antica delle divinità romane: la dea Bona.

Nel mezzo, altenrnati, ci saranno tutti gli episodi importanti della vita di Cesare : gli scontri con Catone ( esasperante, corretto ai limiti della pendanteria, con un odio viscerale per Cesare e Servilia)e con Cicerone, con la parte più conservatrice del senato; le alleanze con Crasso e Pompeo, la vita di Roma e delle province conquistate.
Tutto raccontato con l'intenzione di rendere omaggio ad una figura storica famossisima, indagandone l'aspetto umano, terreno, carnale (frequenti le scene  ad alto contenuto erotico),non solo quello legato alle battaglie e alle conquiste territoriali. Fiero in guerra e tra le lenzuola, insomma.

Mi è piaciuto, ma non  tanto quanto avrei voluto: i personaggi sono troppo "fissi", "rigidi" e ci sono veramente una marea di dialoghi.
Troppi per i miei gusti. Perciò la mia valutazione è 2 stelle e mezzo.

È ammirevole la ricostruzione romanzata, ma è "troppa roba ". Di sicuro farà la felicità degli amanti del genere storico e, in particolare, dell'antica Roma!
Armatevi di pazienza, girate tra i vicoli di Roma, nel foro, ascoltate i dibattiti, imparate di chi fidarvi e chi no (tipo i Pisoni) e scoprirete un Cesare più vivo di quello dei libri di storia.
Vi piacerà?
Fatemelo sapere!

Buone letture e alla prossima!

Ps: di questa autrice meglio "uccelli di rovo", secondo me!

Ye Gods!! This woman is a beautiful writer! By this point in the series, there is only marginally a definable plot, but she interweaves the machinations of the politics of the late Roman republic so well that you forget it is fiction. She takes massive liberties with historical facts, which doesn't matter at all. This is historical fiction at it's best!

Can you call this series a modern classic? Well, I just did, so there it is. After abandoning it as awful at the time of publication, I remain spellbound at this 4th book of the eventual 7. The style is odd and sometimes clunky - but I don't care! I never thought I could be so hooked on the story of Rome, which was never a favourite historical period of mine. I am also consistently awed by the breadth of CM's mind and obvious brainpower as she hooks it all together. An astonishing achievement. I keep going off to check facts and dates and haven't caught her in any major dilemma yet.....

I've found that my favorite novels tend to break down into two main categories:

1)Those with mediocre to average writing but with plots interesting enough to carry the book on their own (e.g. Red Rising, Hunger Games, portions of A Song of Ice and Fire)

2)Those that are so well written that an interesting plot is only icing on the cake (e.g. The Brothers Karamazov, Catch-22, Anna Karenina)

The entirety of Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome falls squarely into my second category. And incidentally enough, the plot is interesting enough that even if the series were written by someone as illiterate as Donald Trump, I would probably still try to get through it. And the most unbelievable part is that the events illustrated in this series actually happened!

The era of the late Roman Republic is one of the most dramatic and compelling time periods in all of human history, and if you've ever had any interest in ancient Rome, I cannot recommend this series enough. As a lifelong fanatic of all things Rome, Caesar's Women scratched an itch that I forgot that I had. I used to spend countless hours of my childhood playing the legionary in my back yard, practicing my oratory to my patient and receptive stuffed animals, and studying the history of a civilization that I so desperately wished that I could have experienced in person.

Thanks to Colleen McCullough, I finally feel that I have.

In this book, we see Caesar transform from a young politician full of potential to a budding autocrat with his eyes set on his ultimate prize: becoming the First Man in Rome. And in the era of the late Roman Republic, there exists but one means to this end: conquest. Onwards Caesar! Further Gaul awaits!

"I am going to go as far as I have to go to become the First Man in Rome for as long as I live! And after I die, I will be called the greatest Roman who ever lived!"

I am not sure if I am a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff. I am only vaguely Team Jacob. But I have absolute, utterly unshakeable, faith that you will not read a better series than the Masters of Rome:

Cicero, however, had the last word. "Incest," he said gravely to a large crowd of Forum frequenters, "is a game the whole family can play."

I stand by it.

So what the fourth book in Masters of Rome about? Colleen McCullough’s love for one Gaius Julius Caesar.

"Because he's too tall, too handsome, too successful with the women, and too arrogant by far"

Caesar is going to make it to the top of Roman politics while hiding a pilum under his toga. He needs money, he needs allies, and he needs to humiliate his opposition, whether by insults:

"You wouldn't be able to see over the heads of your military escort, though I suppose you could draft dwarves."

or by sleeping with their wives. Anyway, McCullough makes it very clear that Caesar’s great, finding ways for him to escape opponents, creditors and dead bedrooms:

“I’d rather masturbate!” he said savagely.

…and it drives the book up to the end of Caesar’s first consulship, but Caesar not why I love this book. Instead, what I love are the other characters, each so massively, irremediably, humanly flawed. As the merest, tiniest, piddliest sampling, you have Publius Clodius, the miscreant who’s 50 pages of introductory characterisation is the absolute heart and soul of this book, claiming (among other things) he committed incest with both his sisters in order to own his brother-in-law:

"Clodilla deems you a poor substitute for her little brother."

…only to later lose control of the narrative:

"Clodia? She wouldn't give me an inch!"
Cicero giggled. "Well, why should she give you an inch when I hear that you give her six of your inches regularly?"

Or Cicero, the “New Man” derided as the bumpkin, the mushroom, or the timid soul, completely unlike his contemporary reputation. Known to us for his speeches, instead he will repeatedly giggle or let out an inarticulate bleat. A man of principles to history, here is he an incurable vacillitator. Desperate to do something memorable in his year of consulship, he sniffs out (incites?) a shadowy conspiracy, only to be damned for it and forced into exile by book’s end:

"On the slenderest of pretexts, you have virtually impeached him."

Or Servila. Haughtiest of patricians; lover of Caesar; mother of a future assassin; crucifer of slaves; sampler of her half-brother’s flesh; and, according to Caesar, possessor of a delightfully hairy back.

There are other female characters, and all seem to be in the thrall of Caesar, but Servila is easily the most fully developed. Boredom directs her towards poisoning her full brother to ensure her own son inherits the “Gold of Tolosa”. Impetuosity leads her to writing a love letter that will risk Caesar's career. Domination of her son will doom him to be a “dense sheep” and a “dull dog”. Unsurprisingly, she has her detractors, including Caesar:

Cold and hard as a slab of marble.

Is she portrayed in a cliched and even misogynistic way, overemotional and easily brought back under Caesar’s sway? Perhaps. But she does a lot in the story, and she has her victories of sorts. Existing in a time period not overly ripe for deep female characterisation, she is unlikable, but we know why she does things, and she does things, rather than sit there as an object to conquer or save.

The critical thing is that the above (and more, so many more) drive the plot of Caesar’s Women. It bursts at the seams with payoffs that are inextricably linked to the actions of the characters rather than unknowable and offscreen entities. Grudges revealed in the first 100 pages will drive decisions made 700 later. Witness Clodius’ revenge on Ptolemy the Cyprian by seizing “the Cyprian” part of his title. All over the latter shafting Clodius on a 2 talent ransom. And, Caesar’s most precious woman, his admittedly underwritten daughter Julia, provides the key to ensuring a key alliance:

He ventured a question about what she did with her days (who cared about her days-what did she do with her nights when the moon rode high and her chariot took her to the stars?)

There are no other hills to be conquered, no other ditches to be leapt, no other books to be read. When I die, build a pyre and fuel the flames with the books from this series so that I may ride to literary Valhalla where Colleen McCullough awaits.

“Comandarei um exército romano e conquistarei o mundo, pois acredito em Roma, acredito nos nossos deuses. E acredito em mim mesmo. Eu sou a alma de um exército romano. Nada me pode deter, vergar, desviar, esmagar.”

“- A literatura – teimou Bruto – tornou-se demasiado vasta. Nenhum homem poderá abarca-la sem recorrer a sumários.”

“- Eu não faço perguntas a ninguém, a não ser a ti. Dessa forma, nunca oiço mentiras.”

“Não deixava de ser curioso que as criaturas detestáveis acabassem sempre por juntar-se, inclusivamente no casamento.”

“a presença da mãe, da esposa e da filha faziam da sua própria casa [de Júlio César] um local esmagadoramente feminino e, por isso mesmo, insuportável.”

“- Cachorrinhos feios dão bons maridos”

“raparigas espertas e desenvoltas são excelentes, mas as brilhantes e intelectuais são um problema, para os outros e para elas mesmas.”

“Quando duas pessoas gostam uma da outra, ficam incapazes de agir como devem. Evitam dizer verdades desagradáveis para o outro. Receiam que essas verdades magoem o outro. O amor e o ódio, pelo contrário, permitem-nos dizer essas verdades desagradáveis. […] O amor e o ódio são cruéis. Só o gostar é amável”

“- Pompeia Sila tem a cabeça tão vazia que até podíamos usá-la como caixa de dados – ripostou César, irado – Além disso, é uma mulher dispendiosa, preguiçosa e um monumento de estupidez.
- A esposa ideal – contrapôs Aurélia.”

“Descobrira o segredo da demagogia: dizer às pessoas aquilo que elas mais querem ouvir, e nunca lhes dizer aquilo que elas não querem ouvir.”

“um homem perde muito do seu poder e influência quando são os seus próprios amigos e adeptos que o censuram.”

“em Roma, a miséria era definida como a incapacidade de um homem de ter um escravo.”

“Os Semitas são quase todos circuncidados. Uma prática muito peculiar. Eu cá [Cneu Pompeu Magno] por mim sinto-me muito ligado ao meu prepúcio: tanto literalmente como metaforicamente.”

“O tédio. Precisamente o sentimento a que nenhum casamento conseguia sobreviver.”

“Se apresentares as duas propostas de lei ao mesmo tempo, desviarás as atenções daquela que realmente queres ver aprovada.”

“Os homens estão sempre à espera de que venha alguém dizer-lhes como se devem posicionar perante os deusas. E eu limitei-me a cumprir esse papel, antes que os meus opositores se lembrassem desse aspecto do problema.”

“Roma não tem problemas com os seus proletarii. Basta que tenham a barriga cheia e jogos para se divertirem. Isso chega-lhes para se sentirem bem.”

“[…] também os criados exerciam algum poder; e só um amo muito inflexível conseguia manter-se impermeável às pressões dos criados.”

“- Não há nada como os casamentos para fazer as mulheres felizes”

“Um homem, qualquer homem, sofrerá mais se for condenado ao exílio! […] A morte em vida é infinitamente pior do que a verdadeira morte.”

“- Esta manhã, quando falei, cometi um erro terrível – prosseguiu César […] Decidi seguir uma linha inteligente […] a minha argumentação devia ter sido mais simples. Eu devia ter falado como se estivesse a explicar as coisas às crianças, devia ter enunciado, tão lentamente quanto possível, verdades que são evidentes. Mas considerei que os meus ouvintes eram homens crescidos, instruídos, com alguma inteligência, e por isso escolhi a ironia.”

“Marco António tinha o hábito de aparecer vestido unicamente com uma túnica, um traje que lhe permitia exibir os notáveis bíceps e os maciços músculos das pernas, a largueza dos ombros, a lisura da barriga, o peito saliente, os antebraços fortes como madeira de carvalho; por outro lado, usava a túnica muito justa, de tal como que a forma do seu sexo se tornava claramente visível, não sendo difícil concluir que se tratava de um apêndice avantajado. As mulheres suspiravam e ficavam afogueadas; os homens engoliam em seco e morriam de inveja. O rosto era muito feio, com um grande nariz adunco, separado de um queixo enorme e agressivo por uma boca pequena, mas com lábios grossos; os olhos estavam demasiado próximos e as faces eram carnudas. […] Em suma, Marco António não precisava de ser um grande orador ou um advogado brilhante; bastava-lhe continuar a ser o que era, um monstro que infundia respeito.”

“A mulher de César, tal como toda a família de César, tem que estar acima de qualquer suspeita.”

“Mas o problema do crescimento é que, quando uma pessoa cresce, deixa tudo o mais para trás […] E por isso poucas pessoas crescem.”

“o triunfo é o auge da glória de um homem!”

“Aquilo que se ganha com as conquistas, defende-se com o comércio.”

“A brevidade pode ser o fundamento do humor, mas as leis que são breves, quando deveriam ser longas, são normalmente más leis.”

“não havia como os criados mais velhos de uma casa para se saber quais eram as decisões mais acertadas!”

“os filhos são um investimento que só rende o máximo quando podem dar aos pais aquilo que, de outro modo, nunca poderiam ter.”

“[…] eu [Júlio César] não quero governar todo o mundo, apenas o seu lado financeiro. Os números são entidades tão concretas e exactas que os homens costumam fugir deles a sete pás – a menos que possuam um talento genuíno para lidar com eles.”

Honestly this series gets wilder and wilder. This book in particular is a lot of repetition - Caesar wants something, the boni don't want to give it to him, Caesar gets what he wants anyway. It was still good, I just don't know if it was as good as the previous ones.

“Las Mujeres del Cesar”es el cuarto libro de la serie “Maestros de Roma” (Masters of Rome). Colleen McCullough relata la carrera política de Julio Cesar para llegar a constituirse de facto en el primer hombre aun no reconocido por sus pares a través de pactos familiares e intrigas de poder político, llegando a superar todos los obstáculos provocados por sus enemigos. Aurelia sigue guiando a Cesar en las agitadas aguas de la política romana con contactos entre las grandes casas y familias patricias con el fin de allanar el asenso de su carrera.
En esta etapa que abarca desde el 68 a 58 a.de C. figura el matrimonio y divorcio de Pompeya, las relaciones amorosas con Cervilia la madre de Brutus . El matrimonio social que sella una alianza política de Pompeyo el Grande con Julia, hija de Cesar.
Como hecho notable que siembra inquietud entre sus enemigos acaeció cuando ostentaba el cargo de Gobernador en Hispania Ulterior donde las tropas homenajearon con Imperator.
Un relato histórico al gran estilo de Colleen McCullough sin decaer en la zaga.

Whenever I start a book in this series, I'm a bit intimidated by its size, as they're not the type that have lots of pages, but a large font; rather, they have quite densely packed pages of very small letters. Then I begin, and am once again drawn into this ancient Roman world, which is rendered in such detail that I'm never less than astonished.
So many characters, events, locations. Nothing is neglected or glossed over. In many books about subjects like this, it just goes from one momentous event to another, but here we have mundane conversation, and other small, seemingly insignificant details, which bring it to life, and make it feel like you're there. Her knack for summing up someone's personality in a sentence or two is wonderful.