The History Book Club discussion

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the historical fiction discussion of FORTUNE'S FAVORITES
by Colleen McCullough.

This is the reading assignment for week seven - (August 29th-September 4)


Week 7 – Aug 29-Sept 4: Part V, pp. 453-534


This is the ninth historical fiction group selected book.

We will open up a thread for each week's reading. Please make sure to post in the particular thread dedicated to those specific chapters and page numbers to avoid spoilers if you are catching up.

This book was kicked off on July 18th.

This discussion is being led by assisting moderator for Fortune's Favorites - Vicki Cline.

We always enjoy the participation of all group members. Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other noted on line booksellers do have copies of the book and shipment can be expedited. The book can also be obtained easily at your local library, but this is not available on Kindle or audible.

This thread opens up Monday, August 22nd for discussion. This is a non spoiler thread.

Welcome,

~Vicki


TO ALWAYS SEE ALL WEEKS' THREADS SELECT VIEW ALL

Please feel free to research the complete Table of Contents and Syllabus on this thread:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...



by Colleen McCullough

I miss Sulla! Verres is a pretty good villain, but he doesn't have any subtlety and no sense of humor.

Sulla was a colorful character for sure.

Verres accompanies the new governor of Cilicia, Dolabella, to his new post as his senior legate. Along the way, he tries to “acquire” some priceless works of art, which is his passion. He has to dump some of his acquisitions when he’s found out, but is sure there are more to be had. While on a tour of Anatolia, he stops at Lampsacus. He hears there is a beautiful maiden in town and determines to see her (and possibly more), but is refused by her father. There’s an altercation between Verres’ lictors and townsfolk during which one of the lictors is killed. The father and son of the “beauty” are tried for the murder and Caesar, who has been visiting King Nicomedes in Bithynia, observes the trial. When Caesar finds out Verres plans to travel to Bithynia, he warns Verres off, saying he’ll be glad to prosecute him when he gets back to Rome. The threat works and the art of Bithynia is saved.

Caesar is tasked with getting another flotilla by Vatia, the next governor of Cilicia. He travels to Cyprus, which is ruled by one of the illegitimate Ptolemy’s (the brother of Ptolemy Auletes) who’s married to a daughter of Mithridates. Ptolemy is not interested in women, so his queen is still a virgin. Caesar removes this flaw, and she convinces her husband to give Caesar the ships he needs.

Meanwhile, back in Italy, some of the cities in Etruria and Umbria which were punished by Sulla for not fighting Carbo are agitating to get their lands back. The current consul, Lepidus, who is friends with Brutus, is sympathetic. But the other consul, Catulus, wants to go to war with the agitators. Lepidus and Brutus are manipulated into going to war against Catulus by Cethegus and Philippus, who have been bought by Pompey. Philippus’ goal is to get Pompey assigned as general against Lepidus, and later to go to Spain to defeat Sertorius. His plans work out, Lepidus and Brutus are killed, and Servilia is free to marry anyone she chooses (she never liked Brutus much).

(Sorry, I thought I had posted this along with the introduction.)

The Lepidus who went to war with Catulus is the father of the future member of the second triumvirate. An interesting family tree including some of the characters in this section of the book is here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_J...

And Caesar's family tree is here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio-Cl...

The family trees are a great reference - thanks for the links! I looked one up on Sulla, as well.

Servilia continues to fascinate me - her political knowledge and intuition, as well as her use of her connections with the other women of Rome to find out what she needs to know. Her characterization her reminds me of Lindsay Duncan's portrayal of her in the HBO series Rome.

Sympathies or no, manipulated or not, the move to rebel against Rome seemed really unwise on the part of Brutus and Lepidus - kind of like betting on the team with the worst win/loss record to win the World Series.

I'd love to see Caesar visit Bithynia again - I love his interactions there with the King and Queen. And who else still loves that they named their dog Sulla? :)