The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough
"The First Man in Rome" by Colleen McCullough is a historical novel that marks a significant departure for the author, as it introduces a new style and genre for her writing. This book is the first in a series and uniquely focuses on male characters, specifically the life of Gaius Marius, an aristocrat from the provinces who rises to prominence through strategic marriage and a distinguished military career. The narrative emphasizes the social dynamics of ancient Rome, where ancestry and public duty are of utmost importance. McCullough's attention to detail brings the setting to life, providing an immersive experience with carefully crafted depictions of the culture, politics, and everyday life in Rome.
The novel is rich in historical facts, and to aid readers, it includes maps, a glossary, and a character list, enhancing comprehension of the complex world she recreates. While the characters face various challenges typical of life and war, McCullough limits the extremes of fortune seen in her other works, allowing deeper exploration of individual motivations and personalities. As readers navigate the intricacies of Marius's rise and the societal expectations of both men and women in that era, they gain insight into the historical context that shaped their lives. Overall, "The First Man in Rome" provides a detailed and engaging portrayal of ancient Rome, making it a compelling read for those interested in historical fiction.
The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1990
Type of work: Novel
The Work
The First Man in Rome marked a stylistic departure for McCullough, as well as a new genre to explore. It is the first of a series of novels, something new for McCullough. Also new is that the primary characters are male. Finally, as a historical novel rather than a romance with a historical setting, it adheres to historical fact. Of necessity, a historical novelist knows the large events of a story before beginning to write. The historical novelist’s only literary freedom lies in details such as personality and domestic life. Such details are McCullough’s chief strength.
Gaius Marius is the primary character of The First Man in Rome. He is an aristocrat from the far provinces, a man of wealth but little social standing in a society that values ancestry highly. Through marriage to a daughter of the Caesar family and a brilliant military career, he obtains prestige and fame, becoming in time the first man in Rome. This is the accepted title for a man whose natural attributes allow him to outshine all others.
More than in any other work, except perhaps The Thorn Birds, McCullough uses setting as a major character in the novel. The aristocrats of her Rome devote themselves to their country. They are expected to be politicians and military generals, and they are reared with a sense of duty to value Rome above all. The women also are bounded by well-defined and rigid rules of duty to home and family. Their adherence to these rules allows the men to concentrate on politics and war.
The novel is dense with detail. Included in the book are several maps, a glossary, a pronunciation guide for Latin names and phrases, and a list of characters. In the narrative, the buildings, streets, clothes, and attitudes are depicted with minute accuracy. While this makes for slow reading, the narrative constructs a fully rounded, embracing picture of Rome that allows the reader to sense just how the state could so encompass the lives of its inhabitants. It also allows McCullough to reconstruct the ancient world for a modern reader.
As a result of the limits of historical accuracy, the characters in this book are not subjected to the same extremes of fortune that the characters in McCullough’s other novels are. Disasters do occur; battles are won or lost; a lucky thought promotes a person to fame and an unlucky chance causes death. The causes, however, are inherent in the individuals, or are likely chances. Working within a story that has already been lived allows McCullough to concentrate fully on her characters and reduces the number of coincidences moving the plot along.
Bibliography
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Steinberg, Sybil. “Colleen McCullough: The Indefatigable Australian Author Has Embarked on a Five-Volume Series Set in Ancient Rome.” Publishers Weekly 237, no. 37 (September 14, 1990): 109-110.