Senatus Populus Que Romanus discussion

I have just finished reading The First Man in Rome which I really enjoyed. It seems to be a perfect blend of historical accuracy and good story telling, with credible and engaging characters. So I'm quite excited about the rest of the series, but what I was wondering is, does it remain as good as the books progress? Any thoughts?

Hi there. I recently finished the third book in the series. I really liked The First Man in Rome. The Grass Crown was a little harder to get through but still quite good, and Fortune's Favorites was great. I'm eager to start Caesar's Women (all the characters are like old friends now) but I have a couple of other books lined up first.

It looks like you wrote this a few weeks ago. Have you started The Grass Crown then?

I'm so glad to have found this group. Rome is fascinating.

Haven't started the Grass Crown yet, it's sitting on my bookshelf waiting (some other books got in the way!). I'm glad to hear that the rest of the series is as good though.

The series is good, in my opinion, all the way through. Warning: McCullough really does seem to have a crush on Julius Caesar.

To my mind The Grass Crown is the weakest of them; it is too long, I think. Fortune's Favorites may be my favorite of them. But I like all of them.

I'm half way through Caesar's Women now. It is really good (might be my favorite yet), but I see what you mean about the crush factor. Caesar is a little too perfect.

My favorite was Caesar, the one right after Caesar's Women. Didn't really bother me that author makes Caesar sound so wonderful--he's supposed to be bigger than life, you know? Rather like Shakespeare's Henry V.
I've started Antony and Cleopatra, enjoying it so far.

Chantel wrote: "I'm half way through Caesar's Women now. It is really good (might be my favorite yet), but I see what you mean about the crush factor. Caesar is a little too perfect."

Caesar's Women is my favorite also. I really like the depiction of family life and politics in Rome itself, as opposed to the foreign campaigns in some of the other books. And Caesar is *way* too perfect.

My two favorite are The First Man in Rome and Fortune's Favorites. Nice mixture of goings-on in Rome and foreign campaigns, and not too much Caesar. And Sulla!

Susanna wrote: "My two favorite are The First Man in Rome and Fortune's Favorites. Nice mixture of goings-on in Rome and foreign campaigns, and not too much Caesar. And Sulla! "

I have to admit that these are a close second/third to Caesar's Women. Marius and Sulla are great characters. When I first got First Man... I was daunted by how big it was, but the pages just fly by. And the glossaries in the back are invaluable. It's just amazing how much you learn as you are entertained.

I picked Ceasar's Women up in a classroom library many years ago knowing nothing about the series or the author; I instantly fell in love with the book. I found it in a box while I was organizing things about a week ago and read through it again. I've ordered a few other books from the series now and am excited to see what they're like.

I'm finally reading Caesar. Once again it's really good and I'm not sure anymore which one is my favorite. I still think I'm leaning towards Caesar's Women, but we'll see.

Does anyone know if there is a good fiction or non-fiction book about the Roman gladiators? This book just touches briefly on it and I wouldn't mind reading more on the subject.

I can't remember which one in this series deals with the Spartacus episode, but that one discusses the whole gladiator culture quite a bit. It is a book before Ceasar's Women, maybe Fortune's Favorites.

I also think it's Fortune's Favorites.

Not aware of a non-fiction one offhand, but I'm sure there must be one.

found a few nonfictions: Gladiator (Philip Wylie, 1930); Gladiator: film and history (Martin M. Winkler, 2004) is about the movie and the history behind it; The Gladiator (Alan Baker, 2002)

Awesome, I'll look into those Linda. Thanks! I have a terrible memory so I guess the Spartacus part didn't stick with me in Fortune's Favorites.

No problem. I was at the computer anyway. Give us some feedback on things that we probably didn't know. Hollywood gives a lot of wrong ideas about history.

Yeah, I have a cool book about Hollywood and history - Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies. A fun read.

I looked it up. It looks good. Thanks!

I like one of the reviews, of a bunch of western movies about a historical topic - the reviewer argued they were all inaccurate, so go see the John Ford, as it's a great movie.

Well, you know, there is a point at which you just have to say "This (book, movie, etc.) is beautiful and/or entertaining or both and if they had to twist history a bit to make it, I guess I can live with that." On the other hand, I've seen movies that made me groan and moan about how this or that didn't happen, or couldn't have happened.

Yep, sometimes you have to strike a balance - but it's good to know what Hollywood just made up, as well.

It's actually fascinating, if you're a history nut, like me!

Yep!

Good for you, Marge! I'm on my third reading of The First Man in Rome and loving it. The rest of them are great also. I was initially intimidated by their length, but the characters are so fascinating the pages just fly by. And practically all the people in the books are historical. This period of Roman history was just jam-packed with remarkable people.

The Grass Crown was good, but what about Fortune's Favorites? or Caesar's Women?

Caesar's Women is my favorite, because so much of what happens is sort of on the domestic front. And the description of life as a Vestal Virgin was really interesting. The only minor quibble I have with the series is that McCullough is too much in love with Caesar - he can do no wrong.

Isn't Sulla amazing and fascinating? He figures in another fiction book, Roman Blood by Steven Saylor. This is the first of Saylor's Gordianus mysteries, and one of my favorite books, as are the rest of the series.

Sulla is my favorite character in the whole series.

Sulla's not a main character in Roman Blood. He appears near the end and his portrayal is very congruent with McCullough's.

Marge, I hope you know that the History Book Club here is currently reading The First Man in Rome and will be starting The Grass Crown early next year. If you're not already there, come join us.