Rating: 
Summary: I was not able to put this one down
Review: Caesar's Women is a phenomenal achievement. Never have I read such thoroughly researched historical novel that left me breathless and never wanting for it to end. I did not know that this book is in a series (the fourth one) when I started it, but it did not confuse me one bit. Although some characters and events seem in need of a background, which I intend to get by reading the prequels, the book is amazing on its own. Reading over some of the other readers' comments, I've noticed that they have complained about "soft" treatment of Caesar and the lack of focus on women. First of all, this is still fiction, so McCullough had no responsibility to treat Caesar in a realistic manner. Secondly, even the written evidence cannot be trusted for the true representation of Caesar. No one will ever know his true nature or his rationale for accomplishing and achieving what he did, so McCullough's guess is as good as anybody's. Also, since this book is still about Caesar's, if not formative, then pre-tyrannical years, he may not have been as ruthless or as psychotic as he later seemed to have become. As a Classics major, I can tell you that women in Ancient Rome are more or less unseen, unless they have extremely high profile, like Cleopatra. Therefore, McCullough did a remarkable job in gathering as much information about women as she could. Perhaps the title is not as good as it could or should have been, it still does not diminish the quality of the book. I have never encountered such impassioned and interesting writing. Not from any other writer or even McCullough herself. A must read. That said, the editing is horrible. There are numerous typos and gramatical errors.
Rating:
Summary: A stunning achievement
Review: Caesar's Women is the fourth installment in Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" Series. This is a series of books that follows the most colourful characters who made the Late Roman Republic such a fun and exciting time and place to study.
In her first book, "First Man in Rome" she charted the rise, rise and rise of Gaius Marius. This was followed by "The Grass Crown" which concentrated on Sulla, the man who displaced Marius and became Dictator of Rome.
In "Fortunes Favorites" we followed the early career of Gaius Julius Caesar as he struggles to grow up in a Rome torn asunder by Marius and Sulla.
Here, in Caesar's Women, we see Caesar in the full flush of his political career, his year as Aedile when he gave the best Games in Rome, and his subsequent elevation to Pontifex Maximus, followed by his Praetorship, Governance of Spain Province and election as Consul.
His relationship with Crassus and with Pompey is developed beautifully, as is his love hate relationship with Servilia and the bethrothal of his daughter first to Brutus and then to Pompey.
Catilina, Cicero and Clodius in particular provide excellent comic relief from the stern doing of roman politics.
This series is a real joy to anyone who has studied classical history as it brings the Forum to life. But I am sure it provides just as much fun to people who have never read of these events before.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best so far
Review: Ceaser's Women was the best of the series so far - and that is saying a lot. Continuing the political career of Julius Ceaser, all of the characters here are very well drawn and seem lifelike.
One of the things I don't like so much about Colleen McCullough's writing is her descriptions of battles etc. - she is generally very terse and lacking in any real emotion in those areas. But in this book she is at her best, and it is a great read.
One warning though for those who get to the end of it - leave a bit of a gap between finishing this one and starting the next, as Ceaser begins 5 years later. Leave it a while and savor this joy of a book.
Rating:
Summary: Deep and intense.... and loooongggg
Review: Colleen definitely catches the personality of Rome which makes Washington DC pale in comparison. While nonfiction relates facts on Rome, Ms McCollough breathes life into a complex mixture of personalities and detail. At time I felt she was a bit verbose and windy so I skimmed along never missing those moments later. Stumbled a bit on some poor editing as well. However in all, I learned more about the heart of Rome and it was worth the trip.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting and exciting drama around Julius Caesar
Review: Colleen McCallough (not quite sure of the spelling) has gone through thorough research before she started writing her books about ancient Rome. Her novel describes the ways of life, depicts many of the central historical characters, and brings the Senate and the Colloseum to life. The novel is well worth reading, once you pick it up you will find it hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: McCullough takes a breather
Review: Colleen McCullough had a hard act to follow after the first three books in the Masters of Rome Series. 'Caesar's Women' is a very good book, but it pales by comparison to the first three books detailing the rise of Marius and Sulla.'Caesar's Women' focuses on Caesar's early rise to prominence in Roman politics. McCullough focuses on the female angle, giving a lot of ink to the role that various women played in the realization of Caesar's ambitions. She spends a good deal of time on Caesar's sexual conquests and political maneuvering. This is a less than flattering view of Rome's most famous citizen. He is seen to be cunning, manipulative and underhanded in his quest for the consulship. He keeps his friends close and his enemies closer, making more than one deal with various devils. He has little regard for women other than his mother, and uses his power over them ruthlessly, discarding them when they have outlived their usefulness. The picture painted here makes Bill Clinton look like a choir boy. While fascinating, this book did not have the potency of the previous three, simply because it was a fairly calm period politically and militarily. It is, however, a critically important book in the series because it explains the roots of all the events that occur in the next book ('Caesar'). It details Caesar's rivalry with Cato and his early relationship with Pompey. These two factors are important in the events that follow in book five. I read this book again after reading 'Caesar' and I had a greater appreciation for it. While it is a slight lull in the series, it is a pivotal part and an excellent and insightful treatment of Caesar's early rise. Since I'm addicted to this series, I am helpless to do other than recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Caesar's Rome
Review: Colleen McCullough's fourth novel in her "Masters of Rome" series certainly lives up to the precedent set by the first three, if only because it is wondeful for the reader to emerge with familiar characters - Pompey, Crassus, Cicero, Clodius and others. And, of course, Caesar himself. This is the one problem with the book - Caesar steals the limelight constantly. Great historical events from around this time such as Clodius' street gangs and the Cailine conspiracy are handed to Caesar so that he shifts into a starring role in both. All of the Roman domestic life mentioned in the book centres around Caesar and his family, which are, of course, beautiful and virtuous like Caesar himself. This does become somewhat tedious and, dare I say, irritating. However, McCullough's writing style is fantastic, and she certainly 'knows her stuff', so to speak. She does not appear to make any major mistakes, but at times her interpretation on characters and their motives confuse me to say the least. I cannot see Bibulus' intense hatred of Caesar rising from a jealousy due to Caesar's height! I also didn't like McCullough's version of Marcus Antonious' (Antony's) character. Through history, the whole Antony character is great - intelligent, flamboyant, handsome and in general a lot of fun! In this novel however, he is turned into an ugly sidekick of Curio and Clodius! Puzzling to say the least. The book, however is superbly written and detailed. I enjoyed reading it, especially the first time, it is when one turns back to it that one sees it's flaws.
Rating:
Summary: Caesar's Rome
Review: Colleen McCullough's fourth novel in her "Masters of Rome" series certainly lives up to the precedent set by the first three, if only because it is wondeful for the reader to emerge with familiar characters - Pompey, Crassus, Cicero, Clodius and others. And, of course, Caesar himself. This is the one problem with the book - Caesar steals the limelight constantly. Great historical events from around this time such as Clodius' street gangs and the Cailine conspiracy are handed to Caesar so that he shifts into a starring role in both. All of the Roman domestic life mentioned in the book centres around Caesar and his family, which are, of course, beautiful and virtuous like Caesar himself. This does become somewhat tedious and, dare I say, irritating. However, McCullough's writing style is fantastic, and she certainly 'knows her stuff', so to speak. She does not appear to make any major mistakes, but at times her interpretation on characters and their motives confuse me to say the least. I cannot see Bibulus' intense hatred of Caesar rising from a jealousy due to Caesar's height! I also didn't like McCullough's version of Marcus Antonious' (Antony's) character. Through history, the whole Antony character is great - intelligent, flamboyant, handsome and in general a lot of fun! In this novel however, he is turned into an ugly sidekick of Curio and Clodius! Puzzling to say the least. The book, however is superbly written and detailed. I enjoyed reading it, especially the first time, it is when one turns back to it that one sees it's flaws.
Rating:
Summary: "Caesar's Women" a breezy, gossippy ride
Review: Far from the weightiness of "The First Man In Rome" and "The Grass Crown," yet nowhere as torpid as "Fortune's Favorites," Colleen McCullough's fourth installment in her Masters of Rome series, "Caesar's Women," is the perfect summer novel. It is light, airy, and filled with enough scandal and rancor to put any Judith Krantz or Terry McMillan novel to shame. That said, it is too heavy on the scandal, too light on the politics, and McCullough weights the scale in favor of the scandal by making her Caesar an impossible man to beat or block. Caesar was an incredibly brilliant man, a political animal who achieved great military feats--but McCullough makes light of his faults by portraying his enemies as buffoons or fools, or worse. Cato the Younger was a bad politician, a drunkard, and a bigot; yet he was also one of the late Republic's great Stoics. Likewise, Cicero, albeit timid and insecure, was a great orator and a master of legal rhetorical technique; McCullough makes him a figure of ridicule all through the book. No matter what the challenge, Caesar comes through looking like a hero (or at least with the last word). And the scene with Lucullus is cringe-inducing--even though it was probably the reaction McCullough was hoping for in readers, it left me feeling as if I'd seen a bad bit of overacting. Still . . . the book is titled "Caesar's Women," and the women are something to enjoy. Although McCullough likes to remind her audience of the patriarchal nature of Roman society (as if it could be forgotten!), still one fact remains: a Roman woman was not someone to be ignored. Be she widow, crone, Vestal, whore or lawful wife, her society and her culture acknowledged her existence, no matter how bounded it was by custom and morality. And although the surviving histories focus on the men, Roman women had great influence on their families, particularly their sons and daughters, and that influence contributed to the ideals of the Republic. A grand example is Servilia, the wife of Decius Junius Silanus, mother of the young Brutus--a cruel, hateful, beautiful woman who falls utterly under Caesar's thumb. Of course the attraction is instant, but to call this a romance would be a misnomer. Servilia is in love; Caesar is simply in lust, and too perceptive of Servilia's true character to lose his heart to her. The relationship is so well portrayed, it makes up for the casting of Caesar as the Superman of the Republic. At this stage of her life, Servilia is wed to a man she cordially despises, and is the mother of daughters she ignores and a son she browbeats into submission. Poor Brutus is so dominated by his mother that the few forms of rebellion he commits usually come back to bite him--avoiding an active lifestyle, for one, including his military training. Yet Servilia is also a force to be reckoned with, something Caesar keeps in mind as he avoids her attempts to strengthen their sexual intimacy into something more. Caesar's favorite activity of cuckolding his political enemies is continued here. The victims are many, with the grandest display of outrage belonging to Cato. And McCullough does weaken his image as a flawless charmer in depicting his marriage to Pompeia Sulla. A "beautiful idiot," Pompeia is described as silly, dull, materialistic, tasteless--in short, almost every shortcoming ever ascribed to a woman except physical ugliness. Caesar's contempt is almost instant; his treatment of her, completely restricting her comings and goings, is tyrannical--but who enforces it all? His mother, Aurelia. Perhaps the best female character McCullough has created is Aurelia, Caesar's mother, and she is phenomenal. Whenever Aurelia enters the scene, she captures attention. Her actions at the Bona Dea feast, with Clodius Pulcher, will make your hair stand on end. But McCullough aged her "portrait," just as she did Sulla's in "Fortune's Favorites"--and I doubt anyone could detest it as much as I do. A close runner-up for best female character is Fulvia, Pulcher's wife. A screaming, uninhibited force of nature, Fulvia doesn't do much in "Caesar's Women," but when she's around it's impossible to ignore her. As for the most charming, that would be Julia, Caesar's daughter. A wise, sweet child, hardly precious or overweening (anyone remember the author's portrayal of young Cicero?), Julia is a heart-stealer from the first moment she appears. But for mousiest female, Calpurnia (Caesar's third wife) would take the prize. And for most unpleasant . . . Servilia would win the laurels. The poster child for the havoc a loveless childhood can wreak, Servilia darkens the scene whenever she appears--but it's impossible not to snicker and enjoy the mayhem that ensues when she does. I've avoided going into detail about the book to keep from spoiling it for other readers. I will recommend it--it's a fine portrayal of the end of the Roman Republic, and it does a beautiful job of portraying Roman women in all their power, strength, and personality.
Rating:
Summary: Caesar's Women
Review: Fourth novel in the author's ancient Rome series. Here (6858 b.c.), in the dwindling wakes of Marius and Sulla (Fortune's Favorites, 1993), is the Colossus, looming in ascent on his way to striding the world--Julius Caesar. Women appear in his orbit now and then, certainly, but the central action is mostly masculine. Nearing 40, Caesar, the handsome, brilliant patrician whose smile rarely reaches his eyes--a former priest, soldier, and diplomat who spent over 20 years in the senate--is back in the Forum, ready to weigh the political heft of potential foes and allies (``clout'' is a word often used). Guardians of the status quo are the viri boni (good men), among them a crafty ``flea'' and a surly Stoic and, on a shaky perimeter, Cicero, the ``golden throated'' orator whose manipulations to quell a conspiracy lead five to death without trial and draw a checkmate from Caesar. Caesar is elected head of the state-administered religion and is affectionate paterfamilias of a bevy of dutiful, decorous Vestal Virgins. And Pompey the Great, the military hero, wiser but still a shade thick and chafing over his lackluster genealogy, becomes not only one of Caesar's triumvirate but his son-in-law, rescuing Caesar's beloved daughter, Julia, from marriage to acne-ed Brutus, the son of Caesar's terrifying mistress Servilia, a woman as hard as the nails she uses to rake flesh. Caesar is winning on most senatorial fronts, and at the close his women (including admirable Aurelia, his mother, and his gentle third wife, Calpurnia) chat it up while word comes from Further Gaul--and Caesar is ``off like the wind.'' Meanwhile, the politicos here, their basic fiber teased from contemporary sources, are not unfamiliar (Caesar hopes that some day the bunch ``will think more of their homeland than . . . getting back at their enemies''). A muscular, convincing re-creation of Rome's political arenaand some legendary combatants. Once again with illustrations, maps, and McCullough's chatty glossary, a pleasure to consult.
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