#39 in Historical fiction
The First Man in Rome
- 1,056
- Pages
- about 19 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“The First Man in Rome” is a vast, meticulously researched historical novel that opens Colleen McCullough’s “Masters of Rome” series. Over more than a thousand pages it builds up Roman politics in rich detail, which rewards readers willing to settle in. Some readers find it slow in places, and others wish it questioned the slavery and conquest on which its Rome rests.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The First Man in Rome is a 1990 historical novel by Australian author Colleen McCullough, and the first in her Masters of Rome series.
Reading order · Masters of Rome
Full order & progress →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.7 across 73 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 33% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Historical fiction average of 8.0. That is how 8.2 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 9.0 | 12 | 16% |
| Hardcover | 8.6 | 61 | 84% |
Frequently asked
How long is The First Man in Rome?
It has 1,056 pages — longer than 95% of the ranked books in Historical fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Historical fiction — and a score of 8.2, the closest to this book.
