The Grass Crown (novel)

The Grass Crown (novel)

infobox Book |
name = The Grass Crown
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Book cover
author = Colleen McCullough
cover_artist =
country = Australia
language = English
series =
genre = Historical Fiction
publisher =
release_date = 1991
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages =
isbn =
preceded_by = The First Man in Rome
followed_by = Fortune's Favourites

"The Grass Crown" is the second historical novel in Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series.

The novel opens shortly after the action of "The First Man in Rome". Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla eat dinner together with their wives, and discuss the threat presented by Mithridates VI of Pontus and Tigranes II of Armenia.

Plot Summary

Although these two powerful Eastern rulers would eventually declare war on Rome and slaughter thousands of Roman citizens, the plot of the novel centres on the Social War of 91 to 88 BC, a civil war which Rome fought against its mutinous Italian Allies after they were refused full Roman citizenship. (The lengthy section dealing with Marcus Livius Drusus' attempt to secure them the citizenship, which ends in his tragic assassination, is one of the main turning points in the entire series.)

Marius and Sulla, still friends and professional colleagues, face the Italian threat together, and succeed in putting down the rebellion of the Italians. During this struggle, Sulla, rallying his troops against certain destruction near Nola, is hailed as 'imperator' on the field of battle and presented with the highest honour a Roman general can receive: the corona graminea, the eponymous 'Grass Crown'. This was only awarded a very few times during the Republic, and only ever to a general or commander who broke the blockade around a beleaguered Roman army or otherwise saved an entire legion or army from annihilation.

However, once Rome has settled this pressing domestic matter, and can begin to plot revenge against Mithridates and Tigranes, Marius and Sulla have their first serious falling out over the question of who should lead the legions East. Marius, now an aged and discredited statesman previously dubbed the 'Third Founder of Rome', is pining for further glory and believes only he has the talent necessary to defeat the allied Kings. Sulla feels as though his old mentor is unwilling to step aside and wants to destroy Sulla's chance of outshining him. The seeds of serious discord are planted.

The Roman comitia quickly becomes a source of political conflict between the two men, and leads to Sulla's first shocking march on Rome. It also leads Gaius Marius to pursue an unprecedented seventh consulship, which he wins and undertakes after suffering a series of strokes, and is depicted in this novel as going mad.

Other narrative threads of note: the childhood of Julius Caesar and Cato the Younger, as well as the early military careers of Pompey and Cicero (who was appointed to Pompeius Strabo as a cadet) in the Social War.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Grass Crown — For the novel by Colleen McCullough see The Grass Crown (novel).The Grass Crown or Blockade Crown (Latin: corona obsidionalis or corona graminea ) was the highest and rarest of all military decorations in the Roman Republic and early Roman empire …   Wikipedia

  • The First Man in Rome (novel) — infobox Book | name = The First Man in Rome title orig = translator = image caption = author = Colleen McCullough cover artist = country = Australia language = English series = genre = Historical Fiction publisher = release date = 1990 media type …   Wikipedia

  • The Ballad of the White Horse — is a poem by G K Chesterton about the idealized exploits of the Saxon King Alfred the Great, published in 1911 AD. Written in ballad form, the work is usually considered an epic poem. The poem narrates how Alfred was able to defeat the invading… …   Wikipedia

  • The Towers of Silence — infobox Book | name = The Towers of Silence title orig = translator = image caption = author = Paul Scott cover artist = country = United Kingdom language = English series = genre = Historical novel publisher = Heinemann release date = October… …   Wikipedia

  • The Wheel of Time — This article is about a fantasy series. For other uses, see Wheel of time (disambiguation). The Wheel of Time The original cover of the first book in the series See list of books in series …   Wikipedia

  • The Secret of Chimneys — infobox Book | name = The Secret of Chimneys title orig = translator = image caption = Dust jacket illustration of the first UK edition author = Agatha Christie cover artist = Percy Graves country = United Kingdom language = English series =… …   Wikipedia

  • The Witch Doctor — infobox Book | name = The Witch Doctor title orig = translator = image caption = The Witch Doctor cover author = Christopher Stasheff illustrator = cover artist = country = United States language = English series = A Wizard in Rhyme genre =… …   Wikipedia

  • Fortune's Favourites (novel) — infobox Book | name = Fortune s Favourite s title orig = translator = image caption = Book cover author = Colleen McCullough cover artist = country = Australia language = English series = genre = Historical Fiction publisher = release date = 1993 …   Wikipedia

  • List of minor The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy characters — The following is an alphabetical list of the minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. The descriptions of the characters are accompanied by information on details about appearances and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of minor characters from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy — The following is a list of minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy , by Douglas Adams.AgrajagAgrajag is a constantly reincarnated entity who ends up being killed multiple times by Arthur Dent. First… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”