Book Review: The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough

My thoughts on a fictionalized retelling of the lead-up to the Sullan Civil War

In the public eye, Roman history is a time period that exists at 753 BC, skips forward to 64 BC and, if we’re lucky, lasts until AD 325. This spotty account of the Western Mediterranean leaves the majority of the population with a vague understanding of what the Roman republic was, and an even vaguer understanding of its downfall. Political commentators…