“Fortune’s Favorites”, by Colleen McCullough

878 pages, William Morrow & Company, ISBN-13: 978-0688093709

Fortune’s Favorites by Colleen McCullough is the third book in her “Masters of Rome” series and spans the years 83 to 69 BC. The series has a thesis (first introduced in 1939 by Sir Ronald Syme in his epic historical treatise “The Roman Revolution”): as Rome became more powerful within the Mediterranean world, the old ways of doing things – through the deliberation of various interests, mainly aristocratic and mercantile – became impossibly cumbersome. It became more and more difficult to govern an empire with institutions originally designed to administer a city-state. Certain powerful leaders (especially Marius, Sulla, and Caesar) tried to create a state in which they had autocratic power but also preserved the externals of the old ways. They were opposed by the conservatives (called the optimates by classical historians, though they themselves preferred the title boni or “good men”). The obtuse or simply ignorant resistance of these reactionaries, who are all (except for Cato) presented as degenerate or self-serving, made the creation of an autocracy necessary. The result was the birth of an imperial monarchy, and a radically different organization of power. Each book in the series features a detailed glossary, hand-drawn illustrations of the major characters, and notes by McCullough detailing her reasoning for portraying certain events in certain ways.

The first half of the novel focuses on the actions of Lucius Cornelius Sulla: his return to Italy in 83 BCE from war against Mithridates VI of Pontus, his successful civil war against the forces of Gnaeus Papirius Carbo and Gaius Marius the Younger, and his accession to the Dictatorship and subsequent constitutional reforms. The narrative emphasizes Sulla's failing health and deteriorated physical appearance, as well as his ruthlessness toward his enemies in taking control of the state, including the infamous proscriptions of Rome's wealthy commercial class, many of whom had supported his rival Gaius Marius. The novel also depicts the entrances onto the political and military scene of Pompey the Great, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gaius Julius Caesar. They interact with Sulla and each other against the backdrop of Sulla's dictatorship, the Senate's war against Quintus Sertorius in Spain, and the slave revolt of Spartacus. The book concludes just after the first joint consulship of Pompey and Crassus in 70 BCE. The book's title is a reference to an often repeated theme in the series, and expresses the Roman belief that Fortuna, the Goddess of Luck, would take a hand in the lives of those who please her, helping them along when they needed it most.

With this book, Colleen McCullough continues her wonderful, fascinating, and so-very-important series, as Masters of Rome breathes life into history, giving us the details of daily life to the broad scope of battles which determined the fates of so many. Fortune’s Favorites is another sprawling novel, covering as it does the significant events taking place in different parts of the Roman Empire. So we spend time seeing military campaigns in the East and time in the West on the military campaigns there. As ever, McCullough brings life and lucidity to these scenes; she also shows us the Spartacus wars – fascinating stuff indeed, including how Spartacus was actually a soldier, not a Thracian, and how the gladiators began and then carried out their revolt. FYI. Are there any flaws to the book? Well, yes: McCullough’s language could be better (the characters say "Oh!" a lot), and she seems to be a too biased towards Caesar, a man who can do no wrong; hence the reader feels her delight when Pompey gets his comeuppance, as he does now and then. But these are minor problems, and one could hardly expect an author to write so much when she did not love her hero. The research is fabulous, and one gets a great taste of what Rome was like. Not only is the book entertaining, but it is important, for these people and their decisions have had a huge impact on the world and our thinking.