Imperium : a novel of ancient Rome

From the bestselling author of Pompeii comes the first volume in an exciting new trilogy set in ancient Rome — an imaginary biography of Cicero, Rome’s first and greatest politician.Of all the great figures of Roman times, none was more fascinating or attractive than Marcus Cicero. A brilliant lawyer and orator, a famous wit and philosopher, he launched himself at the age of twenty-seven into the violent, treacherous world of Roman politics. Cicero was determined to attain imperium, the supreme power in the state. Beside him at all times in his struggle to reach the top — the office of Consul — was his confidential secretary, Tiro. An accomplished man, Tiro was the inventor of shorthand and the author of numerous books, including a famous life of Cicero, unfortunately lost in the Dark Ages.In Imperium, Robert Harris recreates Tiro’s vanished masterpiece, recounting in vivid detail the story of Cicero’s rise to power, from radical young lawyer to first citizen of Rome, competing with men such as Pompey, Caesar, Crassus and Cato. Harris’s Cicero is an immensely sympathetic figure. In his introduction to this imaginary memoir, Taro states: “Cicero was unique in the history of the Roman republic in that he pursued supreme power with no resources to help him apart from his own talent... All he had was his voice, and by sheer effort of will, he turned it into the most famous voice in the world.”From the Hardcover edition. When Tiro, the confidential secretary of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events which will eventually propel his master into one of the most famous courtroom dramas in history. The stranger is a Sicilian, a victim of the island s corrupt Roman governor, Verres. The senator is Cicero, a brilliant young lawyer and spellbinding orator, determined to attain imperium supreme power in the state. This is the starting-point of Robert Harris s most accomplished novel to date. Compellingly written in Tiro s voice, it takes us inside the violent, treacherous world of Roman politics, to describe how one man clever, compassionate, devious, vulnerable fought to reach the top A tale inspired by the writings of Tiro, Cicero's confidential secretary, traces the life of the ancient Roman orator from his beginnings as a young lawyer through his competitions with Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus in the political arena *Imperium* is an epic account of the timeless struggle for power and the sudden disintegration of a society.