Caesar: A Novel

The fifth volume of McCullough's continuing saga of the history of Rome meets the stellar standards she has set in her earlier books (e.g., Caesar's Women, LJ 12/95). It opens in 54 B.C., with Caesar civilizing and romanizing the different tribes in Britannia and Gaul. After five years of almost constant warfare, Caesar turns all his political brilliance to defeating Pompey, his former son-in-law, who wants to strip Caesar of his power. McCullough clearly loves her subject and has done voluminous research, smoothly interweaving the vast number of facts into the narrative. She gives us a living Caesar, the superb military tactician and the man who cried at his mother's and daughter's deaths. It's not hard to see why his troops (and many women) loved him. The novel is further enriched by McCullough's hand-drawn maps, illustrations of major players, and useful glossary. Essential for historical fiction collections.