The First Man in Rome is a historical novel, a genre that has been tackled by various writers with varying degrees of success. Robert James of the Orange County Register wrote that "at a time when the historical novel is languishing for the lack of a truly worthwhile writer, McCullough steps in. Michener has lost his mastery of the form long ago, and Jakes never had it in the first place. But McCullough has crafted an education in the Roman Republic, circa 100 B.C., and it reads as good, if not better, than any historical novel written since Michener's heyday in the '50s and '60s." Set in closer proximity of timeframe and civilization, The First Man in Rome invites comparison to Taylor Caldwell's A Pillar of Iron (1965), whose central character is Cicero, stated Rita Mae Brown in her Washington Post review. She regards Caldwell's...