The First Man in Rome

Rome, 110 BC. Gaius Marius is rich, gifted and has no noble pedigree. He marries Julia, from a cash-poor patrician family, and gains standing. Lucius Cornelius Sulla is a broke patrician living in the gutter who will do anything, even commit crimes, to get into politics. Marius becomes his patron. Marius takes command in Numidia, defeats King Jugurtha and reforms the army, opening the legions to the poor. When Germanic tribes threaten Italy, Rome gives him consulship after consulship, and he crushes the Teutones and the Cimbri. In the end, in his sixth consulship, Marius proves better at war than at politics. His ally Saturninus stages an armed revolt, and Marius has to put it down. He suffers a mild stroke and recovers, but his career is tarnished.

1. Behind the scenesTen years of research

   McCullough published the book in 1990 after a decade of researching ancient Rome. She trained as a neurophysiologist and already had the hit The Thorn Birds behind her.

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2. Behind the scenesDrawn by the author

   Every book in the series comes with a long glossary, author's notes explaining her choices, and hand-drawn portraits of the main characters by McCullough herself.

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3. Behind the scenesAn invented wife

   History doesn't say which branch of the Julii Sulla's first wife came from. McCullough made her Julilla, the younger daughter of Old Caesar and sister of Marius's wife.

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4. SetupWatch Old Caesar

   Old Caesar, Marius's father-in-law, is Julius Caesar's grandfather. His family looks like a side note here, but it's the thread that ties all seven books together.

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