From the best-selling author of The First Man in Rome comes the second book in the continuing saga of the downfall of one of civilization’s earliest attempts at democracy — the Republic of Rome.

The career of Gaius Marius — victorious general and six-time consul of Rome — is in decline. But the aging Marius seeks an unprecedented and prophesied seventh consulship — setting him at odds with the brilliant, tormented Lucius Cornelius Sulla, once Marius’s valued right-hand man, now his most dangerous rival.

Against a backdrop of civil war, massacre, and conspiracy these two men vie for political dominance — and must also contend with forces that threaten Rome’s very survival: rebellion in the neighboring Italian states and the machinations of a barbaric Eastern conqueror.

More than a chronicle of historic clashes and great events, The Grass Crown brings to life the men, women, and children who will help shape the future of the Western world — and whose acts of courage, passion, and treachery interweave to create an enthralling and relentlessly paced story of a remarkable society and a glorious epoch.

Matchless in its detail, rich with true and recognizable human emotions, The Grass Crown brilliantly celebrates the triumphs and tragedies of a world long gone — one in which we can see ourselves hauntingly reflected.