The Grass Crown (Masters of Rome, 2)

I’ve had to learn how to read differently. More deeply. More attentively in order to receive all that Mrs. McCullough has for me. And in doing so I have been deeply rewarded.What a treasure these books are.

The Grass Crown brings Sulla, Marius, Gaius Julius Caesar and the entire Roman world to life in a way that no other writing does. It brings perspective to the atrocities of the time as to how and why events happened as they did. As this is a work of fiction, of course there are liberties taken with events, and everything else, but overall it is a fabulous interpretation of the Sullan and Marian Era. I have been a fan of this series for many years and I read and re-read them fairly often. I gives me a great deal of food for thought when I read real historical accounts of that life and times. Highly recommend.

Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series, of which this a part, is epic in scope with an enormous cast of characters. It is abridged for this audio book, but the editing was well-done and nothing critical to understanding is lost. This reading is just as magnificent. F. Murray Abraham's ability to distinguish between characters in a conversation is so skilled that you forget it is one person. Great story, great novel, great performance.

The Late Roman Republic, from the rise to prominence of Gaius Marius to that of Julius Caesar's nephew (eventually known as Caesar Augustus), is probably the most fascinating, and so perhaps the best-documented, period of Roman history. McCullough's six-volume novelization (the seventh, about Anthony and Cleopatra, is poorly done and was probably a sop to some of her readers) of the period centers on its towering figure, i.e., Julius Caesar, but includes a crowd of other, if less well-known but equally fascinating, historical figures. Her stories are extremely well-researched and so historically accurate, and her characters well-drawn and authentically Roman. That makes this and the other books in the series a pleasant read for someone familiar with the people and culture, and for those who are not, a relatively easy and entertaining way to learn about them. But the books are demanding, and require one to turn off the all-pervasive electronic noise in which many live and to focus one's attention firmly on the story. The experience will be best if you read the novels in order, viz., The First Man in Rome, The Grass Crown, Fortune's Favorites, Caesar's Women, Caesar, and The October House. This, the second in the series, focuses largely on the careers of Marcus Livius Drusus and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, neither of whom are particularly familiar to most modern readers but are fascinating all the same. The title, by the way, refers to a Roman high military honor won by Sulla. Why and how you will have to discover for yourself!

Genuinely great historical fiction. McMullough's absorption in the ancient Roman world, its geography, politics, governmental structure and function, characters extensive genealogies, religious beliefs and rituals, history and mythology are unparalleled and matched with engaging stories and characters. Some if not the best historical fiction ever.

The Grass Crown is truly a worthy sequel to The First Man in Rome. Again, just like the first one, well-researched and detailed, great narration and dialogue that brings real events and real people to life. A glossary in the back of Roman and Latin terms does not make the work cumbersome but instead fascinating and easier to read.Marius and Sulla, once political allies and underdogs of the system, are now having a falling-out. Marius, now a privitus (private citizen) goes on tour of the empire on a fact-finding mission, while Sulla prepares for his run to the consulship himself. Meanwhile, civil war breaks out as the Italian city-states revolt against their Roman masters. Sulla and Marius end up on the same side in this one, but once it's over their paths begin to diverge...The end of this one, though I won't spoil it, is rather sad. Rather than having the admiration for Gaius Marius I had after reading The First Man in Rome, I began to experience dismay with his character in The Grass Crown. He has become suspicious, deceitful, jealous and lets his emotions rule his brain. Needless to say, it ends in disaster for Marius.Sad ending, but great novel to read just the same. New characters arise that are important for the coming books in the "Masters of Rome" series, such as the famous Gaius Julius Caesar (of assassination fame) and Marcus Tullius Cicero.

This is one of the books that makes up the series "Masters of Rome" by Colleen McCullough. All of the books are good and well worth reading. Colleen McCullough is actually better known for having written "The Thorn Birds". However, "Masters of Rome" seems to have been her labor of love. I would urge anyone to read the first book first, the second book second, and so forth and so on.The books are interesting in many ways. One of them, is that they cover a period of Rome's history before (and overlapping with) the rise of Julius Cesar. Most histories of Rome basically start with Cesar and the fall of the Republic. That is not true in this case. The author covers the life of Gaius Marius, Sulla, and other who pre-date Cesar by decades. i learned a great deal from these books and commend the author for writing them.

Worth reading. Did find reading this book and the first one (The First Man in Rome) quite difficult to read. Think this is due to mainly reading historical fiction by the likes of M.C. Scott, Simon Scarrow, Harry Sidebottom and Ben Kane to name just a few. Their style of writing is far easier to read essentially. However it is worth persevering with this series of books as the background knowledge contained within them is immense, especially as most modern authors tend to focus on ancient Rome more or less from the time of Julius Caesar These volumes provide the history that led eventually to rule by Emperor.

After suffering from stroke, Gaius Marius was the privatus after completing his sixth consualship in 99 B.C. He went through a series of exercises to get better hoping to fulfil Martha's prophecy.Meanwhile, Sulla set out his quest to become a consul with his bizarre actions.Pompey first appeared in this novel alongside with Marcus Linicius Crassus while young Julius Caesar and Servillia were growing up.It was appalling events as Marius was going mindless. Brilliant story from Colleen McCullough.Caesar XIIIBreakaway Reviewers bought this book to review.

This is part ll of Vl. I loved part l and ditto part ll. The amount of research that CMcC has undertaken is breathtaking. I'm no expert on Roman history but the amount of detail this book contains, much of which must be historically accurate, is staggering. But this is no history text book. This is the next chapter in an engrossing story which grabbed me from page one of book one and is carrying me along with it. The characters are so fully described that I can see them standing in front of me while the writing style covers complex scenes with ease. If I have any criticism it is of the maps provided which are hand drawn and could, in my opinion, be better. There is a comprehensive (and necessary) glossary at the end of the book because CMcC takes no prisoners when it comes to describing Roman customs, military terms, legal terms and the Roman system of government, not to mention the complicated Roman nomenclature and family relationships. Brilliant.

Colleen McCullough is masterful at presenting the "tempera et mores" of the Roman era, and clothing it in a bloomin' good yarn based on known facts.If you really want to immerse yourself in the world of Rome, nobody does it better.I have this both in Paperback and Kindle.I do recommend the Kindle version - the Paperback is very chunky, awkward to carry around, physically a tad awkward to read and I found the typeface and paper quality not quite to my liking. None of these are an issue with Kindle.

Colleen McCullough is an amazing writer and was able to breathe new fire into known ancient historical events, filling the gaps in the dry facts with passion, emotions and other expressions of the human condition.I read every book in the series, and was captured in the world Dr. McCullough had woven. When I was done, I was so sad that the adventure was over.I would love to read any historical novel written by Dr. McCullough, and I recommend this series to anyone who likes classic civilizations, and historical novels.