McCullough uses the epistolary method again in this novel, as in the past two, but not as intensively as in the first one. The enormous amount of background material is still present, and McCullough is nothing if not meticulous about providing the reader plenty of understanding of why the relationships between various counties are the way they are in the novel (this historical background is very evident in The Grass Crown, as well, especially when references are made to the Hellenized kingdoms and regions of Asia Minor, as happens quite frequently in the latter two novels). The glossary is still present as well, although it is shorter than in the previous two novels, and contains updated material. In general, McCullough tries no new techniques in the third Roman novel; in all three she manages to make Republican Rome and its affairs seem real and immediate by the colloquial...