About Masters of Rome
MASTERS OF ROME
110 BC:
The world cowers before its legions, but the fate of Rome hangs in the balance.
From the marbled columns of the Senate to the squalid slums of the Subura, the city is about to be plunged into a conflict that will set rich against poor, Roman against Italian, father against son, a conflict destined to destroy the Republic but leave, in its stead, an Empire.
Unbearable cruelty, martial brilliance, murderous ambition, heroic destiny: this is the stuff of legend. Colleen McCullough’s epic Masters of Rome captures the soul of Rome in a way no other writer has ever managed.
I. The First Man in Rome
Rome, 110BC
The world cowers before its legions, but Rome is about to be engulfed by a vicious power struggle that will threaten its very existence. At its heart are two exceptional men: Gaius Marius, prosperous but lowborn, a proud and disciplined soldier emboldened by his shrewdness and self-made wealth; and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a handsome young aristocrat corrupted by poverty and vice.
Both are men of extraordinary vision, extreme cunning and ruthless ambition, but both are outsiders, cursed by the insurmountable opposition of powerful and vindictive foes.
If they forge an alliance, Marius and Sulla may just defeat their enemies, but only one of them can become First Man in Rome.
The battle for Rome has just begun.
The First Man is Rome is available here.
II. The Grass Crown
Rome, 97BC
Gaius Marius is triumphant. Under his command, Rome has conquered the Western world, weathered invasion and crushed its enemies. There is just one
prize left to him: an unprecedented seventh consulship.
But the greatest prize demands the highest price. Marius, now aging and ailing, is pitted against a new generation of assassins, power-seekers, and Senate intriguers. There are many who would like to see him fail, not least Lucius Cornelius Sulla, once his closest ally, now his most dangerous rival. Sulla and Marius’ contest can only be won through treachery and blood. As a deadly enmity engulfs both men and plunges them towards madness, Rome must fight its own battle for survival.
The Grass Crown is available here.
III. Fortune’s Favourites
Rome, 83 BC
The Republic is disintegrating. Ravaged by disease, tormented by desire, Lucius Cornelius Sulla has returned from his campaign in the East determined rebuild it, even if it means taking battle to the very walls of Rome and purging the city with blood. There will be deaths without number or limit, but amid the chaos, three infinitely ambitious young Romans vie for greatness.
The young wolves are Pompeius Magnus, Marcus Crassus and the man the world will one day know by just one name: Caesar. Together, they are Fortune’s favourites – an endorsement that will prove as much a blessing as a curse.
Fortune’s Favourites is available here.
IV. Caesar’s Women
Rome, 68 BC
Caesar has returned to Rome. Having cut his teeth campaigning in the East, his sites are now set on a new battlefield: the Forum Romanum. This war will be waged with rhetoric and seduction, weapons Caesar will wield with cunning and ruthlessness. Cuckolding political enemies is but a tactic in a broader strategy: Caesar knows that the key to Rome lies with its noblewomen. Whether the powerful, vindictive Servilia, whose son Brutus deeply resents his mother’s passionate and destructive relationship with Caesar, or his own daughter Julia, Caesar is prepared to sacrifice them all on the altar of his own ambition. Caesar’s women will make his name, and one of them will seal his fate.
Caesar’s Women is available here.
V. Caesar
54BC
Caesar’s legions are sweeping across Gaul, brutally subduing the tribes who defy him. But, in Rome, his enemies are plotting his downfall and disgrace. Vindictive schemers like Cato and Bibulus, the spineless Cicero, the avaricious Brutus. Even Pompey, Caesar’s former ally. But all have underestimated Caesar.
When the Senate refuse to give him his due he marches upon Rome, an army prepared to die for him at his back. Rome is his destiny – a destiny that will impel him to the banks of the Rubicon, and beyond, into legend.
Caesar is available here.
The first five titles in the series are also available as an ebook omnibus
The world cowers before its legions, but the fate of Rome hangs in the balance. From the marbled columns of the Senate to the squalid slums of the Subura, the city is about to be plunged into a conflict that will set rich against poor, Roman against Italian, father against son, a conflict destined to destroy the Republic but leave, in its stead, an Empire.
From the seven hills of Rome to the Sahara desert, from Britannia to Bithynia, here is the stuff of legend: unbearable cruelty, martial brilliance, murderous ambition and heroic destiny. Colleen McCullough’s epic Masters Of Rome captures the soul of Rome in a way no other writer has ever managed. Included in this box set are the novels:
THE FIRST MAN IN ROME
THE GRASS CROWN
FORTUNE’S FAVOURITES
CAESAR’S WOMEN
CAESAR
All of our Masters of Rome eBooks contain all the maps and illustrations of the original publications
Other titles in the series:
The October Horse
48–41 BC
Anthony and Cleopatra
41–27 BC
A Letter from the Publisher
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The story starts here.
First published in Great Britain in 1987 by Hutchinson
This edition first published in 2015 by Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Colleen McCullough, 1987
The moral right of Colleen McCullough to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
