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The First Man in Rome, Part 1 of 2
- GenresHistorical Fiction
Audiobook
First published January 1, 1990
7 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Colleen McCullough
124 books3,098 followersColleen Margaretta McCullough was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being The Thorn Birds and Tim.
Raised by her mother in Wellington and then Sydney, McCullough began writing stories at age 5. She flourished at Catholic schools and earned a physiology degree from the University of New South Wales in 1963. Planning become a doctor, she found that she had a violent allergy to hospital soap and turned instead to neurophysiology – the study of the nervous system's functions. She found jobs first in London and then at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
After her beloved younger brother Carl died in 1965 at age 25 while rescuing two drowning women in the waters off Crete, a shattered McCullough quit writing. She finally returned to her craft in 1974 with Tim, a critically acclaimed novel about the romance between a female executive and a younger, mentally disabled gardener. As always, the author proved her toughest critic: "Actually," she said, "it was an icky book, saccharine sweet."
A year later, while on a paltry $10,000 annual salary as a Yale researcher, McCullough – just "Col" to her friends – began work on the sprawling The Thorn Birds, about the lives and loves of three generations of an Australian family. Many of its details were drawn from her mother's family's experience as migrant workers, and one character, Dane, was based on brother Carl.
Though some reviews were scathing, millions of readers worldwide got caught up in her tales of doomed love and other natural calamities. The paperback rights sold for an astonishing $1.9 million.
In all, McCullough wrote 11 novels.
Source: http://www.people.com/article/colleen...
Raised by her mother in Wellington and then Sydney, McCullough began writing stories at age 5. She flourished at Catholic schools and earned a physiology degree from the University of New South Wales in 1963. Planning become a doctor, she found that she had a violent allergy to hospital soap and turned instead to neurophysiology – the study of the nervous system's functions. She found jobs first in London and then at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
After her beloved younger brother Carl died in 1965 at age 25 while rescuing two drowning women in the waters off Crete, a shattered McCullough quit writing. She finally returned to her craft in 1974 with Tim, a critically acclaimed novel about the romance between a female executive and a younger, mentally disabled gardener. As always, the author proved her toughest critic: "Actually," she said, "it was an icky book, saccharine sweet."
A year later, while on a paltry $10,000 annual salary as a Yale researcher, McCullough – just "Col" to her friends – began work on the sprawling The Thorn Birds, about the lives and loves of three generations of an Australian family. Many of its details were drawn from her mother's family's experience as migrant workers, and one character, Dane, was based on brother Carl.
Though some reviews were scathing, millions of readers worldwide got caught up in her tales of doomed love and other natural calamities. The paperback rights sold for an astonishing $1.9 million.
In all, McCullough wrote 11 novels.
Source: http://www.people.com/article/colleen...
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 17, 2023
"The First Man in Rome" and its two follow-ups, "The Grass Crown" and "Fortune' s Favourites" do make up the sum total of real knowledge of Roman civilization during the span from the rise to prominence of Marius and Sulla to the coming on the political scene of Pompey, Crassus and Cesar. The amount of stuff you can learn here is just astronomical and yet never do you get the impression that the author is holding forth. I must say I have a thing for Ancient Rome, so maybe my take on it is somewhat one-sided, though I think not!
Nevertheless I am well aware of two criticisms mostly voiced about these books.
First, McCullough overdid it with tittle-tattle. She really went over it with her titbit, didn't she? After all who cares today if so-and-so shacked up with so-and-so more than two thousand years ago? You might have a point. Still I should argue that History often goes off course because of human fickleness, thereby for instance you can bear the title of Dictator of the Roman Republic, flourish all the trimmings of boundless power, at the end of the day, you are still made of flesh and bones and this is all you have left to cope with your own hidden frailty.
Second the books cannot warm the cockles of the heart of the eager reader with a taste for war paraphenalia. Fair enough, if you are fond of long telling of blood-soaked battles with all manner of manouvering and tactics, then yes, you shall find them wanting. All I can say to this is that choices have to be made or else you end up with a string of many more books. And by the way, you can throw on the scrap-heap all those she wrote on Rome afterwards. She then went sloppy and made easy money with tedious historical romance. Indeed the Tarpeian Rock juts out not far from the Capitol, she should have known!
Nevertheless I am well aware of two criticisms mostly voiced about these books.
First, McCullough overdid it with tittle-tattle. She really went over it with her titbit, didn't she? After all who cares today if so-and-so shacked up with so-and-so more than two thousand years ago? You might have a point. Still I should argue that History often goes off course because of human fickleness, thereby for instance you can bear the title of Dictator of the Roman Republic, flourish all the trimmings of boundless power, at the end of the day, you are still made of flesh and bones and this is all you have left to cope with your own hidden frailty.
Second the books cannot warm the cockles of the heart of the eager reader with a taste for war paraphenalia. Fair enough, if you are fond of long telling of blood-soaked battles with all manner of manouvering and tactics, then yes, you shall find them wanting. All I can say to this is that choices have to be made or else you end up with a string of many more books. And by the way, you can throw on the scrap-heap all those she wrote on Rome afterwards. She then went sloppy and made easy money with tedious historical romance. Indeed the Tarpeian Rock juts out not far from the Capitol, she should have known!
October 7, 2020
Great book. Can't wait to dip into grass crown. In-depth detailing of Rome .
September 1, 2017
It's a bit too long, it seemed to me that the author spent too much time detailing life in old Rome. There was times I though that was really not necessary.
Also, there's too many Roman names flying around. If not paying attention, it was hard to follow. Had to turn back some pages too figure out who the hell was Lucius blah blah blah...
Author could have simplified a bit there.
Some of the characters seemed too much one dimensional (Aurelia, Julila, Julia...). I realize there's not much information about the real ones that lived so long ago and the story it's really not about them, but I feel the author could have tried to imagine something more... complex, like real persons, not fillers.
No Bernard Cornwell, but nice reading anyhow.
Also, there's too many Roman names flying around. If not paying attention, it was hard to follow. Had to turn back some pages too figure out who the hell was Lucius blah blah blah...
Author could have simplified a bit there.
Some of the characters seemed too much one dimensional (Aurelia, Julila, Julia...). I realize there's not much information about the real ones that lived so long ago and the story it's really not about them, but I feel the author could have tried to imagine something more... complex, like real persons, not fillers.
No Bernard Cornwell, but nice reading anyhow.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews