Bonnie U. (bonnieblu) - reviewed on 10/16/2009 + 9 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

NOT for history buffs! This series has the main characters from Caesar's life but none of the facts are correct. If you want to learn about the real Caesar, this series is not for you, instead check out Collen McCullough's Roman series. This series is an okay read if one totally disregards history, but it would have been so much better if Igullden had used the astonishing facts of Caesar's life to construct his novels.

For example:

Book
Caesar was raised on an estate outside Rome
His mother was mentally ill
Marcus Brutus was his best friend
Brutus's mother, Servilia, was a prostitute
Octavian and his mother are poor and not educated or refined
And on and on and on....


Reality
Caesar was raised in the Subura of Rome, a tenement district, which goes a long way to explaining his identification with the common people
His mother was a highly respected Roman matron who raised him and was admired and respected in Roman society
Brutus was about 13 years younger than Caesar and was actually a friend of Caesar's daughter, Julia
Servilia was a Patrician and although she had affairs, she was not a prostitute
Octavian and his mother, Atia, were Patricians and not poor

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