Reading list for modern fiction

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Modern Fiction Set in Ancient Rome

Colleen McCullough ("Masters of Rome")

All by Colleen McCullough and in paperback, unless otherwise noted.

The First Man in Rome 

(Published 1991 / ISBN 0380710811 ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0671726285 ).

The first of McCullough's novels about Rome. Beginning with Gaius Marius' inauguration as Consul in 110 BCE this novel introduces the rich panoplay of characters who will eventually prove influential to the young G. Julius Caesar as he is growing up. Excellent story-telling covering the Marian wars against the Teutones, the Numidian campaign against King Jughartha, the rise of L. Cornelius Sulla from destitution to glory, an incisive portrait of Caesar's mother Aurelia as a young woman, and much more.

From Library Journal This big, complex novel detailing the beginnings of the downfall of the Roman Republic is a startling change of pace for McCullough ( The Thorn Birds, LJ 5/1/77). Gaius Marius, an upstart New Man from the Italian provinces, and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a patrician Roman brought up in the slums of the Subura, are both ambitious enough to want to become First Man in Rome, despite their social handicaps. The author deftly weaves politics, family rivalries, and battle scenes into a riveting story replete with fascinating details of everyday Roman life. The research is obviously painstaking; the author includes a large glossary of more than 100 pages as well as a pronunciation key for the Roman names. Highly recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/90. BOMC main selection. - Marilyn Jordan, North Miami P.L., Fla. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Grass Crown 

(Published 1992 / ISBN 038071082X ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0671731513 ).

From Kirkus Reviews Volume two of McCullough's triumphant Roman series. The First in Rome (1990) initiated the chronicle of the edgy partnership of new-man-in-Rome Gaius Marius and aristocrat Lucius Cornelius Sulla during the German wars. Here, the calamitous last hurrah of one and the violent pinnacle acts of the other twist through years of Italian wars, expeditions into Asia Minor, domestic trials and brief happinesses, terrible cruelties, and politics, always politics, in which sectors, families, and the famous fight for power--by diplomacy, manipulation, alliances, or the simple art of murder. By now (roughly 80's and 90's B.C.) Marius is in his 60s and escaping a 'dull' Rome to scout Asia Minor and sniff out the purposes of the barbarian king Mithridates of Pontus. The king will be faced down, and, some years later, Sulla, in a spectacular expedition over the Euphrates, will face him down again. Meanwhile, in the Senate there is a movement to enfranchise the sophisticated neighboring Italians, a movement snapped off by an assassination and a polarizing of ruling powers--and, inevitably, there's war. It is the overwhelming victory over one of the Italian tribes that brings Sulla his highest honor (the Grass Crown). Surely he is now equal to the great general Marius, now crippled by a stroke and attended by the boy Gaius Julius Caesar Junior, his wife's nephew. (Yep. The very same.) Marius intends to fulfill an old prophecy- -that he will be elected Consul for a seventh time. The inevitable conflict between Marius and Sulla explodes during an ongoing battle to dilute the power of the Senate elite. There will be a march on an unarmed Rome, screaming grabs for ascendance from an unhinged, dying Marius, and a raving Sulla, plus bloody deaths...and deaths...and deaths. Again, magnificent portraits of real beings. And, again, gamey politics, bright talk, great scenery, and gore. With glossary and maps. (Literary Guild Dual Selection for November) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Fortune's Favorites 

(Published 1994 / ISBN 0380710838 ). Also available as an audiobook(ISBN 0671731521 ).

From Library Journal The third installment in McCullough's magnum opus (after The First Man in Rome , LJ 9/15/90, and The Grass Crown , Morrow, 1991) continues her chronicle of the decline of the Roman Republic and the impending rise of the Roman Empire. The novel's events are dominated by Sulla's return from exile and subsequent installation as Rome's first dictator in almost 200 years; Pompey the Great's machinations as the wealthy provincial, which clears his own path upward through Roman politics; and the maturing of Gaius Julius Caesar, who will ultimately set Rome upon it's imperial course. These three are "Fortune's favorites." Painstakingly researched, McCullough's Roman saga is like a trip through time. Her characters come to life as do their surroundings. While giving us rollicking good fiction, McCullough has also made clear the bribery and chicanery that made up Roman politics. She has given us clear insight into how Rome found itself changing from a republic to an empire. Highly recommended. - Steven Sussman, "Library Journal" Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Caesar's Women 

(Published 1997 / ISBN 0380710846 ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0671731548 ).

From Publishers Weekly Senator and debtor, general and seducer, orator and would-be world conqueror, Julius Caesar, as depicted in this fourth installment (after Fortune's Favorites) in McCullough's epic re-creation of ancient Rome, is both a force of nature and something of a momma's boy. He worships his sophisticated mother Aurelia, "a fount of experience and a mine of common sense," while dismissing as "not important" his "expensive, idle, and monumentally silly" second wife, Pompeia. Its title notwithstanding, this marvelously researched and detailed novel focuses on traditional male pursuits-political intrigue, war, conquest-in the corruption-riddled late Roman republic even as it elucidates the behind-the-scenes influence of women in a repressively patriarchal society. Caesar, though tenderly loving and protective toward his daughter, Julia, pledges her as a child to the adolescent Brutus, with whose mother-the cruel, scheming Servilia-the future dictator of Rome has a purely sexual affair. Years later, Caesar cancels the betrothal in order to use his blossoming daughter as bait to forge a political alliance with the commander of the Roman legions. Meanwhile, Cicero, Caesar's main rival, is portrayed as an incurable vacillator and social climber who displays scant gratitude toward his "sour" and "ugly" wife, Terentia, despite her foiling a conspiracy against his life. With great brio, and ample attention to Roman customs and rites, as well as to the religious, sexual and social institutions of the day, including slavery, McCullough captures the driven, passionate soul of ancient Rome. Illustrations; maps. Author tour. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Caesar : A Novel 

(Published 1997 / ISBN 0060510854). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 067173153X ).

From Library Journal The fifth volume of McCullough's continuing saga of the history of Rome meets the stellar standards she has set in her earlier books (e.g., Caesar's Women, LJ 12/95). It opens in 54 B.C., with Caesar civilizing and romanizing the different tribes in Britannia and Gaul. After five years of almost constant warfare, Caesar turns all his political brilliance to defeating Pompey, his former son-in-law, who wants to strip Caesar of his power. McCullough clearly loves her subject and has done voluminous research, smoothly interweaving the vast number of facts into the narrative. She gives us a living Caesar, the superb military tactician and the man who cried at his mother's and daughter's deaths. It's not hard to see why his troops (and many women) loved him. The novel is further enriched by McCullough's hand-drawn maps, illustrations of major players, and useful glossary. Essential for historical fiction collections. -Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The October Horse 

(Published 2002 / ISBN 0684853310). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0743528182 ).

From Library Journal "Men who are doers can also be thinkers, but the thinking is done on the move, in the midst of events." This line typifies McCullough's vision of Julius Caesar as a man more charismatic, more intelligent, more visionary, and more dynamic than any other in history. Scholars have both lauded Caesar for his military genius, which has often been emulated but never duplicated, and reviled him for single-handedly destroying the Roman Republic and subjugating far-flung lands, and the author stresses that dichotomy here. In this sixth and final entry of her Roman series, McCullough boldly depicts the demise of the empire that Caesar worked so hard to create, closing with his heir, Octavius. This work probably won't be as immediately popular as The Thorn Birds, but it can definitely hold its own with the vast array of novels and nonfiction books on ancient Rome. Though some readers may find the sheer wealth of detail occasionally tedious, the book will find a niche among those who can appreciate the scholarship and research that contributed to recreating Caesar's remarkable career as dictator of Rome. Recommended for larger public libraries that own the rest of the series. --Jane Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Steven Saylor ("Gordianus The Finder" mysteries)

The Arms of Nemesis 

(Steven Saylor / Paperback / Published 1995 / ISBN 0804111278 ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0786111291 ). Marcus Crassus' estate overseer has been murdered, and 99 slaves' lives are forfeit unless Gordianus can unravel the mystery.

Catalina's Riddle 

(Steven Saylor / Paperback / Published 1994 / ISBN 080411269X ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0786111771 ). Gordianus flees the hubbub of Rome for the Etruscan countryside, but finds he can't stay away from political intrigues.

House of the Vestals 

(Steven Saylor / Hardcover / Published 1997 / ISBN 0312154445 ). Also available in paperback (ISBN 0312964528 ). Short stories about some of Gordianus' early adventures. Also includes a historical note about the time period between the end of Sulla's dictatorship and the Spartacus slave revolt.

A Murder on the Appian Way 

(Steven Saylor / Hardcover / Published 1996 / ISBN 031214377X ). Also available in paperback (ISBN 0312961731 ). This time, Gordianus gets mixed up in the murder of Publius Clodius. The fictional detective's investigations foreshadow the real events to come with the fall of the Republic.

Roman Blood 

(Steven Saylor / Paperback / Published 1994 / ISBN 0804110395 ). Also available as an audiobook (ISBN 0786110589 ). Gordianus helps Cicero investigate for the defense of Sextus Roscius (Cicero's first big case).

The Venus Throw 

(Steven Saylor / Paperback / Published 1994 / ISBN 0312957785 ). An Egyptian ambassador to Rome comes to Gordianus for help, plunging him into a tale of international intrigue and debauchery.

Lindsey Davis (Marcus Didius Falco mysteries)

All by Lindsey Davis and in paperback, unless otherwise noted.

The Silver Pigs 

(Published 1989/ISBN 0345369076) Marcus Didius Falco runs into a beautiful woman in the Forum and helps her track down missing silver ingots in this first novel. Introduces Falco's family and his lady friend, Helena Justina.

Shadows in Bronze 

(Published 1990/ISBN 0345373901) Falco wants to marry Justina, but finds himself too poor — until the Emperor Vespasian has a little job of spying he wants done ...

Venus in Copper 

(Published 1991/ISBN 0345373901) Roman real-estate mogul Hortensius Novus is poisoned at a banquet, and his creepy fiancee, Severina Zotica, wants Falco to investigate.

The Iron Hand of Mars 

(Published 1992/ISBN 034538024X) Falco goes undercover in Germania to enlist a Druid priestess' aid in finding a missing Roman general.

Poseidon's Gold 

(Published 1992/ISBN 0345380258) Falco makes it back to Rome only to find himself a suspect in his brother's death.

Last Act in Palmyra 

(Published 1997/ISBN 0446404748) Falco and Helena travel to Petra on a spy mission, only to find themselves mixed up with circus performers and a murder.

Time to Depart 

(Published 1998/ISBN 0446605913) After a notorious criminal is banished from Rome, Falco and his staunchly upright friend Petronius join forces to stem a crime wave.

A Dying Light in Corduba 

(Published 1996/ISBN 0446606804) Two Imperial spies are attacked, and one killed, after the olive oil barons' banquet. Falco must juggle a mystery with his own impending fatherhood.