Orator: The Life of Cicero and the End of the Roman Republic

by Catharine Edwards

When the great Roman orator Cicero was murdered in the Autumn of 43 BCE, Fulvia, the wife of Marc Antony, had his tongue cut out and pierced with pins, so great a weapon it was. But Cicero was more than a brilliant orator - his life almost perfectly mirrors the decline and fall of the Roman Republic, and his actions and reactions to the rising tyranny of the world around him continue to fascinate and inspire today.

In this gripping new biography, historian Catharine Edwards will breathe new life into one the ancient world's most notable figures, and offer a fresh take on the end of the Roman Republic. The book examines Cicero's life for what it can tell us about a turbulent society, in which longstanding tensions and inequalities were exacerbated by the wealth of empire, and ambitious generals battled to seize control and remake Rome.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir, Ancient History

452 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2026

About the author

Catharine Edwards is professor of classics and ancient history at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is the author of The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome and Writing Rome: Textual Approaches to the City.

Reviews

[Edie]

Classicist Catharine Edwards provides a thorough reckoning with the life and times of Cicero. We read about his family life, his political wins and losses, his place in history, and some of his own words. When I write it all out like that, it does seem like the book covers everything. Yet I was left wanting something more. What? I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps I want a more direct answer to the question of why I should care today about this particular historical character. And Edwards does answer that question by tracing a brief outline of Cicero's influence through the ages. And perhaps every book does not need to speak directly to me. Perhaps that is a problem with readers today. But I did close the book feeling like I wanted a bit more. That said, Cicero's Tongue is an accessible treasure of historical information. Edwards puts all of her skills as a teacher into making the book interesting and informative. I will be nominating the book for my nonfiction book club. I am glad I read it and you will be too if you choose to pick it up! Thank you to everyone involved in the audioARC, including Macmillan Audio and NetGalley.

[Beth]

Catharine Edwards’ book Cicero’s Tongue, The Life of Rome’s Greatest Orator and the End of the Republic was an interesting listen. Historical books of this magnitude, I usually like to read and listen at the same time but this time around with it being an ALC, I listened solely. I found Edwards’ passion for her subject matter to be evident with her being the narrator and enjoyed her bringing Cicero and the many characters of Rome to life. Edwards’ definitely proves to be knowledgable in her subject and her writing kept me engaged throughout. The articulation and tones were pleasant to the ear and I even found myself speeding up the audiobook without losing any content. A very nice audiobook production along with a story of Cicero that seems very timely in the world we live in at the present.

Thank you, Catharine Edwards and Macmillan Audio for providing me the ALC via NetGalley for review.

[Janine]

I remember sophomore year in high school studying some of Cicero’s Catiline speeches and hoping I’d survive them. At that time I knew nothing about the man himself or the context around which some of his speeches were made - that would come much later when I read Robert Harris’s magnificent trilogy on him - but I do remember that the Latin words and phrasings were beautiful - words fascinate me.

In this new biography of Cicero who lived around the time of Julius Caesar, Pompey, Mark Antony, Cato and Sulla - names which have been etched in Roman history - he comes to life for his oratory as well as political influence on Rome. There is no doubt that Cicero’s oratory on politics, philosophy and morality had a profound influence on his times which saw the end of the Republic - a deep concern that led to his eventual death (by then he had amassed many enemies too). But Cicero’s classical education, especially studying the Greeks - whom the Romans admired - proved to be his greatest asset as Rome’s greatest orator.

We don’t value classical education or oratory today - social media has done a lot to devalue words themselves (as well as tiny pedagogues for whom speech is nothing more than a chance to say vile things and lies). But for previous generations Cicero was the man whom “political operators from Machiavelli to the Founding Fathers” learned from. Cicero wrote two books on oratory that these men studied v

Cicero’s life and times are a mirror of ours. He lived during the decline of the Republic and the rise of the strongmen. His complex relationships with these strong men, Pompey and Caesar, showed his ability to straddle a divide that would eventually lead to end but which he felt was important - preserving the old ways, the norms of civility in turbulent times. Once he was exiled his life turned insular but he never forgot his love of Rome. He faced his executioners bravely - should never have pissed off Antony over his stepfather - and when his severed head was brought to Rome, a Roman historian wrote that the voice of the Roman people were silenced!

Cicero was no perfect man but his legacy for honor and justice still resonates and because his speeches survive we can appreciate the importance of leaving something worthwhile behind - not just cheap gold stuff superglued to walls.

I gave this book five stars for its topic - Cicero is a great figure in history and oratory; for its research and writing - this is not a stuffy history book; it’s easy to read; and for the importance of preserving accurate history in our times when so many want to re-write it to soothe their weak hearts.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this ARC.

[Ben Thibeau]

Huge thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy!

This book is, to me, the perfect example of a historical biography. It is as much about the decline of the Roman Republic as it is of the subject, Marcus Tullius Cicero. His writings and letters have been copied, studied, celebrated, and criticized, over the last two thousand years, making him the Roman we know the most about. Readers may both root for Cicero and for his downfall, as his strengths and weaknesses are presented equally.

As a “new man”, Cicero was incredibly proud of his achievements, being elected consul at the youngest age possible and being named “Father of the Fatherland” for his efforts in toppling the Catalan Conspiracy. Cicero achieved greatness not through strategic skill on the battlefield like many in the Roman world, but through his oratory skills in the courts, a unique feat, even in the Republican Era.

As a major political player in the times of Pompy the Great, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Octavian (laterAugustus), he bore witness to the events that shaped the fall of the republic and the rise of the Empire. Among these great names and powerful autocrats, Cicero wavered between his commitment to his land and his station as a leading statesman.

He waffles between Pompy and Caesar during their civil war, he then celebrates Ceasar’s assassins before throwing in with Octavian against Mark Antony. This decision ultimately cost him his life, as he was killed in a brutal round of proscriptions.

This book is a breath of fresh air, avoiding undue praise for a deeply ambitious and flawed individual. Cicero is not idealized in this book, the fall of the republic is not romanticized. Instead we are given a vivid and alarming look at life in the first century BCE from Cicero’s perspective.

This book is such a fun read that I hated to put down. I could have devoured another 500 pages!

I absolutely loved this book and I hope you do too!

[Cindy]

A thorough history of Cicero, with reference to his body of speeches and letters, put into context as the Roman Republic wound down and the age of the Roman Empire ascended. Cicero was, by all accounts, an accomplished orator who spoke on behalf of Roman citizens, proposing more just and equitable treatment for the plebes and warning about the collapse of democracy. When he fell out of favor, he was exiled, but wanted more than anything to be back in Rome. The author tries to give voice to Cicero's wife and other women of his time, yet as they had no citizenship rights, there are not many primary sources available...and few male scholars of Roman antiquity bothered. It's the life of an ambitious man who believed people could be persuaded by the right words to do the right thing. It's interesting, but not a page-turner. I studied classical rhetoric in uni but retained little about Cicero. The most memorable item from this book is how the wife of Marc Antony (the man who ordered Cicero's execution) used Cicero's tongue as a voodoo doll, sticking pins in it for all the grief he caused her husband.
The audiobook is well narrated by the author. My thanks to the author, publisher, @MacmillanAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #CicerosTongue for review purposes. Publication date: 15 September 2026.

[Maddy Clio]

Feeling a little lost in how to rate this. I can't say I retained much of this (which is very much my own fault.).

I have, once again, requested an audiobook I probably should have read as a physical book. And, as I got approved for this very close to its archive date, I feel I had to rush to finish it. Mix that in with my recent distain for reading 'The Aeneid' (and being burnout by Roman history), I didn't enjoy much of this. (Once again, my fault, I'm sorry, don't hate me.)

It is very clear that Edwards has a passion for Cicero's work and Roman history in general, and that most definitely shines through in the text. I simply wish I could have read this as a physical book and taken my time with it. The narration is spectacular and the pacing is great, however; I do recommend this to anyone who's looking for a biography of Cicero.

As always, thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for letting me read this early!

[Tony Dodd]

It's hard to assess synthetic studies of the end of the Roman republic, where every stone has already been turned and one fears that an offstage chorus of schoolchildren stands ready to correct everything from syntax to minutiae of daily life. The author makes no claim to original research and for many this will be a tale already told several times too often. On the positive side though it must be said that there are now probably many who don't know how Cato died or what Sulla thought about Marius and this volume adds just enough of that background to tell its story.

[Books by Madeleine S]

I received an ALC of this book courtesy of Macmillan Audio through NetGalley.

A true history-aficionado's history book, there is little editorialization and plenty of emphasis on primary sources (and sometimes bemoaning the lack of them). I am admittedly not a hugely Ancient Rome-fascinated person, so stepping into a new time period meant that I learned a lot!

It's always nice when the author is the narrator, as I can be confident that the inflections and character voices are exactly what was intended in the writing process. Also, Edwards has a great narrator voice.

[Cindy]

An in-depth biography of a complex man. I didn't know a great deal about Cicero before reading this book, but he comes alive as a wily, self-serving, ultimately brave man with great skills. I can't say I liked him, but I do feel like I know his character.

I listened to this on audio. I had a hard time at first distinguishing when Cicero was speaking and when the author was speaking, but it got easier as the book progressed.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Andrea Wenger]

This biography of Cicero, Rome's brilliant orator and statesman, explores his life, the Republic's fall, and his urgent message for today's fragile democracies. The book is well-researched, informative, and easy to understand. I enjoyed learning more about this great man.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Olivia Ann]

I found *Cicero’s Tongue* really fascinating. I especially enjoyed how Cicero’s life is connected to the political turmoil happening around him. What stood out to me was how much his story still feels relevant today, particularly when it comes to power, ambition, and the breakdown of democratic institutions. It made me look at this period of Roman history in a completely different way.

[Erin]

very interesting, filled in a lot of my patchy memories I have of learning about the period, what a time in history to be alive- a count of how many times he says I or me in his speeches supposedly about other things would be staggering