![]() ![]() Caught up in an endless stream of minor players and insignificant details, the two men remain essentially one-dimensional figures, the former a pretty lunkhead blessed by fortune, the latter an ox-like miser intent on scrambling after wealth. So when "Fortune's Favorite" abruptly concludes with Caesar proclaiming (a la Scarlett O'Hara) "I will survive," readers can't help but be disappointed that this tale that began in midstory is ending the same way.įor all the vividness of her rendering of Caesar, McCullough fails to do justice to either Pompey or Crassus. His exploits-whether charming an elderly Asian potentate into submission or methodically wiping out a band of Lycian pirates-make a compelling story. Icon image The October Horse: A Novel of Caesar and Cleopatra. Caesar, of course, is perfect, but others are treated mildly, it seems, for no apparent reason, and others harshly. Colleen McCullough, a native of Australia, established the department of neurophysiology. We can see clearly who the good and bad are. Freed from his religious duties, Caesar embarks on a military career. Somewhat difficult to justify I think This character treatment comes about because we can see from almost the first page of the novel where McCulloughs prejudices lie. She shows the young Caesar outwitting Sulla to cast off the proscribed priesthood meant to consign him to obscurity. ![]() McCullough's depiction of Caesar demonstrates how artfully composed fiction can illuminate history while also entertaining less scholarly readers. ![]()
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