I have nothing bad to say about this book. Nothing. It's brilliant. I have never read a book about these historical figures written in such a way, I can almost see and feel them, fear them, feel bad for them, admire them, and wish them dead all a the same time. Masterfully done.

I can't wait to read the next book.

I just finished re-reading this book (again), and McCullough's series is so brilliant, it just gets better every time I do! This volume deals with the decline and fall of Gaius Marius, arguably Rome's first truly successful popularis, and the continuing rise of his former friend turned rival, Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Also featured is the early childhood of Gaius Iulius Caesar, arguably the most famous Roman who ever lived. A must-read for any serious enthusiast of ancient Rome!

Whoa!!! OK, I have always wanted to read this book until the end - I have tried earlier but I guess I was not brave enough. But now... Fantastic point of view for the time in history where Great Man delivered chess games of high class, where "dignitas" and "auctoritas" were the thing that truly great personalities were thriving for... I am amazed and can not wait to read the Fortune's Favorites.
Great recommendations ;)

Story: 10 (Long and slow-moving but always engaging)
Characters: 10 (Distinct, sympathetic, and ultimately detestable)
Accuracy: 10 (There have been changes but no casual ones)

I have to say that this was a very different sort of book from The First Man in Rome. It has, of course, the same preoccupation with the minutiae of politics, character, and marriages, but it lacks the simple central narrative of imminent invasion and one man’s necessary rise to power. Instead, this book is about a lot of things. It’s still got the account of a man rising to power, though in this case the man is Sulla rather than Marius, and the rise is gradual and murderous rather than rushed and heroic. It also has the story of a man seeking new purpose (Marius in exile), the Republic creating and ignoring new threats, political idealists and cynics manipulating the system, greedy senators seizing power, family squabbles, unruly infants, foreign kings, military campaigns throughout Italy and Asia, madness, pointless destruction, revenge, and a host of temporary issues that need dealing with.

It may sound from this like the book’s a total mess, but I actually enjoyed it more than the first one. The lack of obvious direction can be hard, but the sprawling nature of the tale works much better when it doesn’t have to tie everything to one central narrative. This story is a web of interconnected families all pushing against each other rather than the single thread of one man struggling against the world and winning. All the unrelated stories seem to grow outwards naturally, and it always feels real when they come together or end suddenly. Yet somehow there is still a clear beginning and conclusion to the stories here, and when the conclusion does come it feels like an ending and the natural result of everything that happened in the novel.

A big part of what holds it all together is Cornelius Sulla. He’s won me over completely, and I truly loath the Sulla of history. But this man is so full of hopes, unhappiness, and a thirst to prove himself that you never truly want him to fail (well, maybe just a little...). And that’s despite the constant reminders that a psychopath lurks just under his mask of civility. You want to know who Sulla is? He’s basically Daniel Plainfield from There Will Be Blood. He even looks kinda like Daniel Day-Lewis, albeit paler. Someone who can never be happy, never truly selflessly love somebody else, and who has a desire to tear down everyone who might get in his way. McCullough does a remarkable job making Sulla sympathetic but still believably awful, and he’s easily able to steal the scene from the older and simpler Marius. It seems odd to me just how long this pair continue as friends, or at least allies. It’s hard to remember when history records them as such bitter rivals, but they did work well together for far longer than they were at odds (really just a couple of years). And while Sulla and Marius are growing more distant throughout the course of the book it never feels like a break is inevitable. But that doesn’t make the eventual betrayal any less horrible or disheartening. If there is one overarching story here it is that of the passing of the torch to the next generation. But unlike most such stories the process is fraught with pain and humiliation instead of optimism and youthful enthusiasm. Perhaps that’s why I like it so.

The other characters really shine too. I’m pleased we get to see more of Scaurus here since he’s often in Marius’ camp. The man’s a delight. He comes across as a pompous and colorless personality in the history books since we have nothing really to go on, but thanks to the wonders of making things up we get to see him as a man who loves life, holds no grudges, and finds everything extremely funny. His delight in the absurdities and greed of his fellow senators makes even the most tedious of exposition shine. Even when events are moving against him he manages to laugh at it all. The extended time we get with Scaurus is enough to make up for the much decreased time we spend with the eternal gossip Rufus. And there is an entire cast of side characters that all appear as unique figures despite the complexity of their interrelationships.

If I have a character complaint it’s that Caesar (yes, that Caesar) gets the focus far too early. He’s two years old for gods’ sake! This is not helped by the fact that McCullough’s awful at writing children. They sound just like little adults. Cato, also at two, is already speaking in fully formed and grammatical sentences. I get that that’s the point and people are surprised by it, but there’s no way an infant could learn proper grammar so quickly and immediately ossociate his sense of self-worth with this scrupulous exactitude. We don’t need to be told that Caesar’s a scarily gifted child who stands out from the pack in order to believe his later rise. That can wait until he has a proper role in the novels. I doubt the truth of it anyway. Not that he wasn’t extremely smart, but he was, notoriously, a late bloomer who only managed to rise to the top by being a nonthreatening middleman for the two greatest men in Rome. Any account which tells of his heroic rise and almost preordained success from an early age is ignoring the string of failures and minor victories that characterized his initial career. And I fear that this sort of hero worship’s the direction this series is heading in. But that’s an issue for another day.

Unfortunately (for me), the novel contains much more of the sort of historical romance I assumed the whole series was when I saw it in the library years ago (with titles like n  Caesar's Womenn can you blame me?). To be more specific (since classifying any love story in a historical setting as a historical romance would leave precious few novels outside this categorization) I mean the type of story where true love always prevails, romantic partners become future wives, and the men are both super manly and super respectful of their lover’s feelings. My lack of interest in these types of stories aside, I’d class every one of those assumptions as historically dubious. The odds that every major marriage alliance among the great houses sprang from or developed into love matches is statistically improbable. A marriage was an alliance between two families. That’s why so many Romans sought romance in the arms of lovers rather than wives.

I think Harry Turtledove’s n  Hellenic Tradersn series captures the emotions of ancient romance the best: cold marriage alliances creating households of eternal emotional dissatisfaction and loneliness that could only be spiced up by the occasional dalliance or affair. After all, only with clandestine affairs could you be certain that your lover truly desired you since all other forms of contact were defined by obligation. But that’s the very opposite of romantic since such relationships were by definition temporary and led nowhere. Obviously there were the fortunate examples of married couples genuinely in love (Augustus and Livia seem a better example than the famous Antony and Cleopatra), but these were very much the exception rather than the rule. While it didn’t bother me to see Marius and Julia as one such couple in The First Man of Rome, it seems that every match (including the lone unhappy one from the last book) must get resolved happily. No. From eighteen being the earliest age a girl could get married to the idea that wife-beating was an enormous crime for a senator, Roman marriage customs have been whitewashed to make them more likeable. It’s one of the only areas where such concessions are made and I find it sticks out like a sore thumb amidst the generally more accurate depiction of Roman society.

The ending of the book is truly atrocious (I mean that in the best of ways). I had suspected it was going to pull its punches due to how it treated some of its characters (particularly the noble Marius) but it delivers the full horror of Rome’s first true civil war and then some! The immense cruelty dealt out by characters you’ve learned to trust and love (even inflicted on those closest to them for no better reason than a malicious thirst for sole glory) shakes your faith in all their achievements. Were there ever truly any ideals at play? Or was it just their personal advancement at stake? Can you ever truly trust any man fully? And as this is much the same as the sudden crisis of faith Rome finds itself in it works as a perfect capstone to the novel. Who, after all, are you supposed to side with in this mess? The Senate? A bunch of wealthy elites struggling to hang onto their total dominance of the lower classes. The Assemblies? A mob both fickle and violent with no real direction or restraint. Who are you left with but the warlords? And they clearly can’t be trusted. It’s a grimy, uncomfortable mess that we’re stuck in and it largely overturns the mostly triumphant ending of the last novel. This is, truly, the beginning of the end for the Roman Republic.

To anyone intimidated by the size of this book, it is worth it. Just know that the first 190 pages are a bit slow, consisting mostly of two story lines - a description of a vacation by Gaius Marius (one of the main protagonists) and an affair by Livia Drusa (a minor character), both of which oddly have little bearing on the remainder of the book.

However, at that point it quickly gets into it's rai·son d'ê·tre - the civil war waged from 91 to 87 BC between Rome and it's Italian allies. Most of Rome's patricians strongly opposed the the citizenship demands of their allies leading to a war that devastated Italy and ultimately led to a clash of titans - Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla - and their respective allies.

Colleen does a fantastic job making the reader visualize the cruelty and carnage that resulted from both the Italian Civil War and the battles for Rome that followed and, even though the sheer size of the cast and often subtle changes in cognomens (in Latin no less) makes it challenging to keep track of all the characters, she somehow manages to build emotional connections with the principal figures.

I enjoyed both of the first two books in this series and am looking forward to the third.

The Grass Crown is the second book in The Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough and autographed, as I cherish the honor of meeting this author. And another riveting and engrossing book detailing the continuing saga of the downfall of one of civilization’s earliest attempts at democracy—the Republic of Rome. This book keeps one riveted as one is swept once again into a world of conflict, political intrigue, violence, enmity and enduring love—a true literary achievement! Having had this beautiful series of books for many years, it is interesting that I have chosen to read these books when the democracy of the United States is in question, as we emerge from a shocking election. One can’t help but notice the vivid parallels between Ancient Rome and contemporary America.

The thrust of the book is the rivalry between Gaius Marius and valued assistant and comrade, Lucias Cornelius Sullus, now his most dangerous rival. Gaius Marius was a victorious general and elected as Consul of Rome six times, vying for his seventh term as prophesied. And it is against a backdrop of civil war, massacre, and conspiracy, these two men vie for political dominance as they also must contend with the forces that threaten Rome’s survival. Marius intends to fulfill an old prophesy that the will be elected consul for the seventh time as we witness the magnificent portraits that Colleen McCullough has drawn for us, complete with a glossary and maps. And again, I am in awe of these beautiful books as I pull the books next in the series, just to peek. I just have to salute Colleen McCullough for such a magnificent series of books. I will be eager to read the next book in the series.

n  

“Lucius Cornelius Sulla, your army wishes to give you a token of its gratitude and thanks. Without you, the army would have been defeated, and its soldiers dead. You fought in the front rank and showed the rest of us the way. You never flagged on the march to Nola. To you and you alone is due this greatest victory by far of the whole war. You have saved more than your army. You have saved Rome. Lucius Cornelius, we honor you,” said Lucullus, stepping back to make way for the centurions.”

“In his hands lay a very drab and tattered circlet made of grass runners plucked from the field of battle and braided together haphazardly, roots and earth and blades and blood. . . . The Grass Crown.”

n

not as ridiculously over-the-top fun as the first one, but still way more fun than it had any right to be. I think the only reason I liked this one just a little less is the fact that it dragged occasionally, here and there, which threw a hitch into the pacing. having said that, it was still wonderful - the characters are dynamic, the history feels fresh and alive, the politics are complicated, and the relationships are rich. I will be reading the next one very soon, and I'd absolutely recommend these books to anyone interested in this period of history.

my favorite part of this book is how it ends with a supposed cliffhanger:

Marius finally fulfills the prophecy about him that says he will become consul an unprecedented 7 times. BUT! this prophecy, as they all do, comes with a catch: Marius's nephew* will surpass him to become the greatest Roman of all time (the GROAT). to avoid this, when nephew turns 13 Marius appoints him to this archaic priesthood that doesn't allow him to touch iron, ride a horse, and a whole bunch of other superstitious shit. basically the kid can't have a military career anymore.

Marius dies shortly after getting elected consul for the 7th time, presumably secure in the fact that his nephew will never amount to anything. ha, ha, he says, i have cheated Fate herself. thus the cliffhanger is: is Marius's nephew doomed to languish in obscurity for the rest of his days??? is he but a footnote in the pages of history???

i remember reading this for the first time and being like "oh my fucking god i NEED to read the next book. I NEED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE NEPHEW." 5/5 stars.

*the nephew is Julius Caesar

A very exciting novel, very long but never heavy. It was hard to read it in English but it was worth it! The setting is beautifully reconstructed, it is wonderful to immerse ourselves in the world of ancient Rome through the words of McCullough! Her work behind this novel is immense! In addition, the plot is compelling and exciting, among political intrigues, wars, cruelty, affections and dislikes: a world so far from ours but when we look at the psychology of the characters we see that human nature has remained the same! Speaking of the characters: they are beautifully built! Even the minor ones appear extremely alive, you love them or hate them or both, but always so intensely!
Can't wait to continue!

Un romanzo davvero molto emozionante, lunghissimo ma mai pesante, faticoso da leggere in inglese ma ne è valsa la pena! L’ambientazione è ricostruita egregiamente, è stupendo immergersi nel mondo dell’antica Roma attraverso le parole di McCullough! Il suo lavoro dietro questi romanzi è immenso! In più la trama è avvincente ed emozionante, tra intrighi politici, guerre, crudeltà, affetti e antipatie: un mondo così lontano dal nostro ma quando guardiamo la psicologia dei personaggi vediamo che la natura umana è rimasta la stessa! A proposito dei personaggi: sono costruiti meravigliosamente! Anche quelli minori appaiono estremamente vivi, li si ama o li si odia o entrambe le cose, ma sempre intensamente!
Non vedo l’ora di proseguire!
http://www.naufragio.it/iltempodilegg...

To think that I considered to shelf this book for a later date after 200 pages! It strikes me as sacrilege now.

I'm sorry Colleen. I tend to get impatient sometimes. Yet another masterful work, and the scenes with Young Ceasar, oh my lord how perfectly you wrote them. I can't wait to read the next one in the series, but I also want to savor them for a long time. Thankfully, each book in this series is a colossus, giving me ample time. What a series you have written.

Roman history has been my great love since I was very young, and Ceasar and Augustus are two figures I consistently write my "fantasy conversations" as I call them. Along with Marcus Aurelius of course. And in my fantasy conversations and debates, this is exactly how I imagine Ceasar and Sulla and Gaius Marius to be. Iron willed Romans who somehow bow down to a liver of a bull. Strange creatures those, but as ever, absolutely, excruciatingly fascinating.

The easiest way to become an expert in the end of the roman republic, and later, the end of Ceasar, is to read this series.
Historical novels always walks a line of historical correctness and entertainment, i thought this series managed to provide both, which is an impressive feat considering the extensive amount of information available for this time-period.

This series follows the most important romans and their families for two generations.
The rise to power of the succesful battlecommander Gaius Marius, the following period under Sulla the dictator, the triumvirat between Pompeius Magnus, crassus and Ceasar, Ceasars campaigns in france and germany, his return to rome, and his murder.

Each book ends with an afterword where McCullough explains what she have made up, what is speculation, and what we know.
There are even a lot of authentic drawings based on bustes of the real people in the story.

This is my favorite, non-fantasy, series.
Really fascinating stuff..

This is why I read. Utterly enthralled till the very last word. Wish it didn't have to end. Glad there are 5 more books to read. Better than the first in the series. Colleen McCullough has no equal.