Caesar's Women | Colleen McCullough | Vestal Virgins and Adultery

Caesar's Women | Colleen McCullough | The Really Difficult Made Fun and Clear

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Caesar's Women

	Caesar's Women Colleen McCullough William Morrow & Company, 1996 - 696 pages average customer review:based on 57 reviews
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highly recommended

The author of The Thorn Birds presents the fourth novel in the Masters of Rome series, focusing on the women in the life of the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar at the height of his power. 100,000 first printing. Tour.

Vestal Virgins and Adultery

With this book, Colleen McCullough continues her wonderful, fascinating, and so-very-important series. The Masters of Rome breathes life into history, giving us the details of daily life to the broad scope of battles which determined the fates of so many.

Caesar's Women gives us a chance of getting to know the women in Rome. We spend time with Aurelia, his mother. We see Julia, his beautiful young daughter. We even get to know the venomous Servilia, the woman with whom Caesar had an affair for years and years - and who is also the mother of Brutus, the fellow who would eventually lead the group of conspirators to stab him. I admit that I can't help wondering how accurate McCullough's portrayal is of these two personages. Was Servilia really so manipulative and nasty? Was Brutus really so hang-dog, so full of pimples - what we would call today a "loser" (albeit an enormously rich one). How much did McCullough invent?

But back to the novel itself: McCullough gives us several treats. Caesar is made Pontifex Maximus, which allows us, the readers to tour the home of the Vestal Virgins. McCullough seems to have researched the architecture thoroughly because we learn that the peristyle doesn't get enough sun. We even get to see how all those wills are organized (there's like a million or so wills being kept by the Vestal Virgins).

We also get a chance to see the festival of Bona Dea (the good goddess) and the attempt on the part of the irresponsible Publius Clodius to infiltrate it. This was dreadful sacrilege for Rome and led to Caesar's divorce of his second wife, the beautiful bimbo Pompeia Sulla (Caesar's wife must be above suspicion).

Other characters continue making their appearances: Cicero and Cato and Marcus Crassus. There is, of course, the background of wars and politics and intrigue and the struggle between mediocrity and excellence. Pompey beats back the pirates. Cicero executes men without trial (although they are self-confessed). He thinks he is doing what is right for the country: but is he? Over and over the characters ask themselves a so very important question: How do we best govern ourselves? And how do I come out on top?

Towards the end we see a bit of real romance: Julia and Pompey the Great. Even though there are about 30 years between them, they fall in love, enabling a most important alliance for Caesar. The joy and exuberance of these two characters is off set by the utter depression of the jilted Brutus, who has loved Julia (and has been betrothed to her) for many years. And, as we know what is to come, I can't help wondering: Did the cancellation of the engagement lead to Brutus picking up the dagger? Or was it Caesar's long time affair with his mother?

Well worth reading!

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The Really Difficult Made Fun and Clear

In graduate school the Roman Political System was a torturous twisting and turning subject that made the US government seem childishly simple. Yet McCullough's book not only makes the way the Roman government worked clear but makes learning about it a thoroughly enjoyable experience! I wish I'd had the novel in graduate school. I've noticed that several reviewers have complained about how complicated and boring Caesar's Woman was. Nonsense, When I teach Roman history again you can bet I'll use portions of the text to help my students understand.

T.R. Roberts

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Interesting characters and boring history lessons

This would have been a terrific book if only McCullough had stuck to writing about Caesar's Women. I enjoyed reading about them. But the long, never ending descriptions of politics made me want to beat my head against a wall. This book is an unhappy marriage of boring history and interesting characters. McCullough is a solid writer capable of telling a good story but she takes herself way too seriously here. I was only going to give this one two stars but she has obviously worked so hard I gave her three.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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