Contents
About the Book
About the Author
Also by Robert Harris
Title Page
Dedication
Maps
Author’s Note
Epigraph
Part One
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Part Two
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Dramatis Personae
Glossary
Acknowledgements
Copyright
About the Book
There was a time when Cicero held Caesar’s life in the palm of his hand. But now Caesar is the dominant figure and Cicero’s life is in ruins. Exiled, separated from his wife and children, his possessions confiscated, his life constantly in danger, Cicero is tormented by the knowledge that he has sacrificed power for the sake of his principles. His comeback requires wit, skill and courage – and for a brief and glorious period, the legendary orator is once more the supreme senator in Rome. But politics is never static and no statesman, however cunning, can safeguard against the ambition and corruption of others. Riveting and tumultuous,
About the Author
Robert Harris is the author of nine bestselling novels:
Also by Robert Harris
FICTION
NON-FICTION
To Holly
AUTHOR’S NOTE
That there was such a man as Tiro and that he wrote such a book are well-attested historical facts. Born a slave on the family estate, he was three years younger than his master but long outlived him, surviving, according to Saint Jerome, until he reached his hundredth year.
‘Your services to me are beyond count,’ Cicero wrote to him in 50 BC, ‘in my home and out of it, in Rome and abroad, in private affairs and public, in my studies and literary work …’ Tiro was the first man to record a speech in the senate verbatim, and his shorthand system, known as
What must it have been like, one wonders? Cicero’s life was extraordinary, even by the hectic standards of the age. From relatively lowly origins compared to his aristocratic rivals, and despite his lack of interest in military matters, deploying his skill as an orator and the brilliance of his intellect he rose at meteoric speed through the Roman political system, until, against all the odds, he finally was elected consul at the youngest-permitted age of forty-two.
There followed a crisis-stricken year in office – 63 BC – during which he was obliged to deal with a conspiracy to overthrow the republic led by Sergius Catilina. To suppress the revolt, the Senate, under Cicero’s presidency, ordered the execution of five prominent citizens – an episode that haunted his career ever afterwards.
