Preview of Fortune's Favorites Summary:

The most obvious theme in Fortune's Favorites is that of fortune and destiny — to greatness, disaster, or obscurity.

Most of the major characters — Caesar, Sulla, Pompey, Spartacus, and Sertorius — are described as either being one of "fortune's favorites" or having been completely abandoned by fortune.

Sulla, who had previously nicknamed himself Felix (lucky), loses his luck — his beloved son has already died; his wife dies in a welter of...