New Book
Following Imperium and Conspirata, the extraordinary final volume of the bestselling Ancient Rome trilogy traces the collapse of the Roman Republic through the tumultuous last years of the ancient world’s greatest orator. At the age of forty-eight, Cicero is in exile, his great power sacrificed on the altar of his principles. And yet, in the words of one of his most famous aphorisms, “While there is life, there is hope.” By promising to support Caesar–his political enemy–he is granted return to Rome. There, he fights his way back to prominence: first in the law courts, then in the Senate, and finally by the power of his pen, until he is again the preeminent statesman in the city. Even so, no public figure, however brilliant and cunning, is completely safeguarded against the unscrupulous motives of others. Riveting and unforgettable, Dictator encompasses some of the most epic events in ancient history–the dissolution of the Roman Republic, the murder of Pompey, the assassination of Julius Caesar. But the central problem it presents is a timeless one: how to keep political freedom unsullied by personal ambition, vested interests, and the erosive effects of ceaseless foreign wars. In Robert Harris’s indelible portrait, Cicero attempts to answer this question with his thoughts and his deeds, becoming a hero–brilliant, flawed, fearful yet brave–for his own time and for ours.
About the Author: ROBERT HARRIS is the author of twelve novels: Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, Imperium, The Ghost Writer, Conspirata, The Fear Index, An Officer and a Spy, Dictator, Conclave, and Munich. Several of his books have been adapted to film, most recently The Ghost. His work has been translated into thirty-seven languages. He lives in the village of Kintbury, England, with his wife, Gill Hornby.
