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Cicero #2
Titan
Nachdem Robert Harris in seinem Bestseller Imperium den Aufstieg des Marcus Tullius Cicero vom ehrgeizigen, rhetorisch und politisch brillanten Anwalt bis zur Erringung des Konsulats – des höchsten politischen Amtes in der römischen Politik – so spannend wie ein Politkrimi nacherzählt hatte, wendet er sich in seinem zweiten Band der Cicero-Trilogie den folgenden fünf Jahren 63 bis 58 v. Chr. zu, in denen die Römische Republik unaufhaltsam ihrem Untergang zustrebt. Der Roman setzt genau da ein, wo Imperium geendet hatte: zwei Tage vor Ciceros Amtseinführung als Konsul. Erzählt wird die Geschichte wiederum von Ciceros Sekretär Tiro: eine klug gewählte Perspektive, da sie Nähe zu dem großen Staatsmann und zugleich wertende Distanz ermöglicht.
Die erste Hälfte des Buches ist allein dem bewegenden Jahr 63 gewidmet, in dem Cicero mit der berühmten Verschwörung des korrupten Patriziers Catilina konfrontiert wird, der in der Konsulatswahl gegen ihn verloren hatte und nun auf Rache sinnt. Catilina rottet eine Schar Mitverschwörer um sich und versucht einen Putsch, bei dem Cicero ermordet und die Stadt von den Truppen der Verschwörer eingenommen werden soll. Der Staatsstreich kann von Cicero vereitelt werden, die Verschwörer werden zum Teil hingerichtet, zum Teil als Staatsfeinde der Stadt verwiesen. Doch die Probleme sind für Cicero damit noch nicht beendet: Der zweite Teil des Buches beschreibt, wie der immens reiche, intrigante Crassus, der populäre Heerführer Pompeius und insbesondere der aufstrebende Gaius Julius Caesar zu seinen mächtigen Gegenspielern werden, und als diese drei sich 60 v. Chr. zum Triumvirat zusammenschließen, muss Cicero all sein rhetorisches und taktisches Geschick aufbringen, um nicht in politische Isolation zu gelangen. Und dann erfährt er auch noch, dass ihm abermals nach dem Leben getrachtet wird…
Die Geschehnisse, die in Titan geschildert werden, sind hinlänglich bekannt. Aber genau das macht den Reiz aus: Robert Harris gelingt es ähnlich wie in Imperium, eine historisch bestens ausgeleuchtete Epoche der Weltgeschichte so mit Leben zu füllen, dass man sich fragt, wie man das früher im Geschichts- oder Lateinunterricht nur hatte langweilig finden können. Manche Episoden sind zwar, das muss einschränkend gesagt werden, etwas holzschnittartig geraten – dramaturgisch war Imperium das gelungenere Buch –, insgesamt aber ist Titan ein empfehlenswerter historischer Thriller, dessen Handlung, wäre sie nicht tatsächlich geschehen, man sich kaum besser hätte ausdenken können. -- Christoph Nettersheim
541 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2009
1381 people are currently reading
10028 people want to read
About the author
Robert Harris
62 books8,847 followersROBERT HARRIS is the author of nine best-selling novels: Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, Imperium, The Ghost Writer, Conspirata, The Fear Index, and An Officer and a Spy. Several of his books have been adapted to film, most recently The Ghost Writer, directed by Roman Polanski. His work has been translated into thirty-seven languages. He lives in the village of Kintbury, England, with his wife, Gill Hornby.
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March 14, 2013
This book is the second volume of the Cicero trilogy. The first is Imperium and the third has not been published yet. The title of Lustrum used for the UK market refers to the five years in Cicero’s life from the moment Cicero became Consul (63-58BC). In the US it has been published as Conspirata. The choice of titles for either side of the Atlantic invites speculation.
Lustrum presents a different Cicero from the one we saw in the first volume. In Imperium we could witness the orator’s climb through the political ladder, thanks to his forceful speeches (on the Verrus Trial, his first attack on Catilina, and on his election to Consul). It was the story of a rising star.
In Lustrum the rising of Cicero is at an end and we also discover a couple of his failings. For although the book begins with his great battle and achievement during his Consulship year (63BC), or his dismantling of the Catilina conspiracy (had it succeeded, the subsequent history of the western world would have developed differently), posterity continues to question the execution of the conspirators without trial. Harris does a good job in presenting the case as rather complex, and not a simple and pure result of ruthless tyranny, and somewhat saves the hero-like portrayal of Cicero. Nonetheless, the facts are there.
Sadly and irritably, we also see him prone to the same weaknesses that we detect in our modern democracies politicians. Cicero did let the illusion of grandeur feed his greed. In his coveting too large and luxurious a mansion he compromised on principles instead of acting his writings, and so fell easily into the hands of his enemies.
And finally, Lustrum is the story of Cicero gradually retreating in face of the overwhelming power that the three political beasts of Julius Caesar, Pompey and Crassus were massing and bringing to the fore. Cicero after all was no military man and the pillars of Rome were physical and technical strength, not conceptual.
This final drama of Cicero’s retreat is left hanging on our minds as the second volume, annoyingly, ends. It certainly is a credit to Robert Harris’s narrative abilities that he succeeds in creating a compelling suspense out of the life of a well known figure.
This volume is so fully occupied with the very complex political intrigue, in which the many characters keep shifting positions in a “Conspirata” political ball, that the “roman-ness”, which in Imperium seemed like an applied varnish, is better welded into the setting. This dense plot also obscures the very quality that made Cicero such an influential figure in subsequent ages, his oratory. And that is a shame.
The third volume (I googled around trying to find out when it will come out, unsuccessfully), will probably continue with Cicero’s final confrontation with Marc Antony, and with the path towards Autocracy that the Republic was treading in its final years.
Lustrum presents a different Cicero from the one we saw in the first volume. In Imperium we could witness the orator’s climb through the political ladder, thanks to his forceful speeches (on the Verrus Trial, his first attack on Catilina, and on his election to Consul). It was the story of a rising star.
In Lustrum the rising of Cicero is at an end and we also discover a couple of his failings. For although the book begins with his great battle and achievement during his Consulship year (63BC), or his dismantling of the Catilina conspiracy (had it succeeded, the subsequent history of the western world would have developed differently), posterity continues to question the execution of the conspirators without trial. Harris does a good job in presenting the case as rather complex, and not a simple and pure result of ruthless tyranny, and somewhat saves the hero-like portrayal of Cicero. Nonetheless, the facts are there.
Sadly and irritably, we also see him prone to the same weaknesses that we detect in our modern democracies politicians. Cicero did let the illusion of grandeur feed his greed. In his coveting too large and luxurious a mansion he compromised on principles instead of acting his writings, and so fell easily into the hands of his enemies.
And finally, Lustrum is the story of Cicero gradually retreating in face of the overwhelming power that the three political beasts of Julius Caesar, Pompey and Crassus were massing and bringing to the fore. Cicero after all was no military man and the pillars of Rome were physical and technical strength, not conceptual.
This final drama of Cicero’s retreat is left hanging on our minds as the second volume, annoyingly, ends. It certainly is a credit to Robert Harris’s narrative abilities that he succeeds in creating a compelling suspense out of the life of a well known figure.
This volume is so fully occupied with the very complex political intrigue, in which the many characters keep shifting positions in a “Conspirata” political ball, that the “roman-ness”, which in Imperium seemed like an applied varnish, is better welded into the setting. This dense plot also obscures the very quality that made Cicero such an influential figure in subsequent ages, his oratory. And that is a shame.
The third volume (I googled around trying to find out when it will come out, unsuccessfully), will probably continue with Cicero’s final confrontation with Marc Antony, and with the path towards Autocracy that the Republic was treading in its final years.
October 3, 2025
Uma Hidra Intemporal
Adoro latim e Roma Antiga, e por isso Lustrum me soa tão bem 💕
E soa-me bem por dentro e por fora, i.e., na capa, conteúdo e personagens 👍👍👍
Em Lustrum irrompemos pelo velho mundo penetrando na política de Cícero e doutros que a fizeram com ele e, por incrível que pareça… revemo-nos por lá!
“«Olhamos o passado com condescendência, como um mero estudo preliminar ao nosso dispor… mas, e se fôssemos apenas uma impressão duradoura dos nossos antepassados?»”
Ler Lustrum é aprender História numa história e reencontrar o presente no passado, pois a política...a política é uma Hidra intemporal…😉
Adoro latim e Roma Antiga, e por isso Lustrum me soa tão bem 💕
E soa-me bem por dentro e por fora, i.e., na capa, conteúdo e personagens 👍👍👍
Em Lustrum irrompemos pelo velho mundo penetrando na política de Cícero e doutros que a fizeram com ele e, por incrível que pareça… revemo-nos por lá!
“«Olhamos o passado com condescendência, como um mero estudo preliminar ao nosso dispor… mas, e se fôssemos apenas uma impressão duradoura dos nossos antepassados?»”
Ler Lustrum é aprender História numa história e reencontrar o presente no passado, pois a política...a política é uma Hidra intemporal…😉
December 13, 2019
Harris has written a number of books about Rome and its Empire. This one takes place just before the events that turn Rome from a republic to a dictatorship. We have all the prime characters in play: Pompey, Caesar, Crassus, Catalina, Cicero, etc.
This book (as is the case with others in the series) is told from the perspective of Cicero's slave/secretary, Tiro. Rome is thick with politics as Cicero assumes the consulship. We and Harris are lucky that so much of Cicero's thoughts have been preserved and organized over the past 2000 years. This is the foundation from which Harris builds his story of greed, power, murder and mayhem. The first half of the book puts the reader right in the midst of a massive plot to overthrow the government.
The story begins a bit ponderously with a rare snow that has Rome somewhat paralyzed. A body is discovered and, as incoming consul, Cicero is called to the scene. It is the body of a young male slave, and the death was violent. Cicero has no idea how entangled he will become in related events. The death's significance is played out as the story gathers speed.
The first half of the book deals with his year as consul. It has his greatest triumph as he arguably saves Rome from rebellion. Lacking a famous family, Cicero is on the outside in Senate, though he is its head. He has to fulfill campaign promises to his supporters while getting a majority together on major issues. He has to balance the patrician faction with those who gain their support from the lower classes. It all leads to constant conflict and shifting alliances.
In the second half of the book deals with how full of himself Cicero has become and the challenges of living a more public life and spending beyond his means. The return of that triumphant general, Pompey, creates new threats to an Empire dependent on its army. And, Caesar is always ready to seek advantage in even the smallest events. In the end it comes down to what Cicero can do to impede Caesar's grasp for total control over the Empire. The move by move "chess game" enlivens the historical facts of this four year period that was critical to Rome's future.
Harris's has the ability to tell a compelling tale and he manages to weave seamlessly historical fact and fiction. Famous characters such as Caesar and Cicero become fully formed people rather than the two-dimensional names of history. The conversations are well-crafted revealing each historical player's idiosyncracies and enhancing the plot. The fine details of Roman life: religion, funerals, governance, and domestic life make this a lively and compelling picture of one of the most critical periods in history.
PS: Cicero, thanks to his writings may have been the citizen of Rome who had the greatest impact on Western Civilization for the next 2000 years. His works, when re-examined and amplified by Plutarch, served as a foundation for much of Renaissance thought. And, his influence on European thought continued for centuries culminating in acknowledgements by many of the key figures of The Enlightenment. Harris gives us the man, as well as his thoughts and does so in a manner that is easily accessible.
This book (as is the case with others in the series) is told from the perspective of Cicero's slave/secretary, Tiro. Rome is thick with politics as Cicero assumes the consulship. We and Harris are lucky that so much of Cicero's thoughts have been preserved and organized over the past 2000 years. This is the foundation from which Harris builds his story of greed, power, murder and mayhem. The first half of the book puts the reader right in the midst of a massive plot to overthrow the government.
The story begins a bit ponderously with a rare snow that has Rome somewhat paralyzed. A body is discovered and, as incoming consul, Cicero is called to the scene. It is the body of a young male slave, and the death was violent. Cicero has no idea how entangled he will become in related events. The death's significance is played out as the story gathers speed.
The first half of the book deals with his year as consul. It has his greatest triumph as he arguably saves Rome from rebellion. Lacking a famous family, Cicero is on the outside in Senate, though he is its head. He has to fulfill campaign promises to his supporters while getting a majority together on major issues. He has to balance the patrician faction with those who gain their support from the lower classes. It all leads to constant conflict and shifting alliances.
In the second half of the book deals with how full of himself Cicero has become and the challenges of living a more public life and spending beyond his means. The return of that triumphant general, Pompey, creates new threats to an Empire dependent on its army. And, Caesar is always ready to seek advantage in even the smallest events. In the end it comes down to what Cicero can do to impede Caesar's grasp for total control over the Empire. The move by move "chess game" enlivens the historical facts of this four year period that was critical to Rome's future.
Harris's has the ability to tell a compelling tale and he manages to weave seamlessly historical fact and fiction. Famous characters such as Caesar and Cicero become fully formed people rather than the two-dimensional names of history. The conversations are well-crafted revealing each historical player's idiosyncracies and enhancing the plot. The fine details of Roman life: religion, funerals, governance, and domestic life make this a lively and compelling picture of one of the most critical periods in history.
PS: Cicero, thanks to his writings may have been the citizen of Rome who had the greatest impact on Western Civilization for the next 2000 years. His works, when re-examined and amplified by Plutarch, served as a foundation for much of Renaissance thought. And, his influence on European thought continued for centuries culminating in acknowledgements by many of the key figures of The Enlightenment. Harris gives us the man, as well as his thoughts and does so in a manner that is easily accessible.
October 18, 2019
I tried reading Lustrum a while ago but gave up early on, sensing that it wasn’t anywhere near as good as its preceding book, Imperium. Except I really want to read Dictator, the final book in Robert Harris’ Cicero trilogy, which I’m hoping will be awesome, and I’ve been on a Harris kick lately, so I powered through Lustrum – and I was right the first time because unfortunately it ain’t all that and a bag of potatoes!
The novel is divided into two halves: Consul, about Cicero’s year as leader of the Senate and de facto ruler of Rome, and Pater Patriae, that details his severe fall from such mighty heights. The story centres around arch rival Catilina’s conspiracy to assassinate Cicero and its aftermath, spanning roughly five years in total (hence the title Lustrum, which is a period of five years, and the US/Italian title of this book, Conspirata).
Which sounds interesting – and yet… nah. What made Imperium so compelling was the wonderfully viperous Caesar clashing with Cicero throughout (which is why I want to read Dictator as I think that book is going to be full of that) whereas Caesar, though his shadow looms over everything, is largely absent in Lustrum. Instead, there’s a lot of tedious politicking between way too many unmemorable characters – too much talking, not enough action - which just isn’t very engaging or compelling to read.
Some scenes are interesting – the fate of the conspirators, pretty much every scene Cato was in and when Cicero goes to see Caesar at the end – but it’s precious few in a book nearly 450 pages long. Still, Harris’ portrait of Cicero remains captivating and convincing and he brings Ancient Rome to life very skilfully. As always, Harris writes well and things end in a tantalising way that makes me look forward to Dictator all the more.
I suppose given how things change for Cicero by the end, you probably need to have read Lustrum if you’re planning on reading Dictator, and maybe you’ll get more out of this one than I did, but it’s definitely a weak point in the series, so don’t expect much from it.
The novel is divided into two halves: Consul, about Cicero’s year as leader of the Senate and de facto ruler of Rome, and Pater Patriae, that details his severe fall from such mighty heights. The story centres around arch rival Catilina’s conspiracy to assassinate Cicero and its aftermath, spanning roughly five years in total (hence the title Lustrum, which is a period of five years, and the US/Italian title of this book, Conspirata).
Which sounds interesting – and yet… nah. What made Imperium so compelling was the wonderfully viperous Caesar clashing with Cicero throughout (which is why I want to read Dictator as I think that book is going to be full of that) whereas Caesar, though his shadow looms over everything, is largely absent in Lustrum. Instead, there’s a lot of tedious politicking between way too many unmemorable characters – too much talking, not enough action - which just isn’t very engaging or compelling to read.
Some scenes are interesting – the fate of the conspirators, pretty much every scene Cato was in and when Cicero goes to see Caesar at the end – but it’s precious few in a book nearly 450 pages long. Still, Harris’ portrait of Cicero remains captivating and convincing and he brings Ancient Rome to life very skilfully. As always, Harris writes well and things end in a tantalising way that makes me look forward to Dictator all the more.
I suppose given how things change for Cicero by the end, you probably need to have read Lustrum if you’re planning on reading Dictator, and maybe you’ll get more out of this one than I did, but it’s definitely a weak point in the series, so don’t expect much from it.
November 18, 2017
I have read and thoroughly enjoyed other books by Robert Harris ... but not this one ... what I found here were far too many characters, little foundation for understanding the complicated norms and practices of Rome, and no cohesion to the story ... I was lost and did not finish ... sorry ... I think most people liked this
February 18, 2023
Such a good book. I might like book 1 slightly better if only because it takes its time more. This book is a wild ride and sometimes goes by events a little too quickly but that might just be for me because I know the history and wish we dwelled more on it. Can't wait for book 3.
May 2, 2011
This is a story of a gifted orator who is legally elected to lead his country during a time of great crisis, but faces incredible opposition from powerful people who use a variety of dirty tricks and propaganda techniques to enrage mobs of stupid people to subvert the law and government so they can seize power for themselves.
Oh, and it’s set in ancient Rome. I wonder why it seems so familiar today?
Robert Harris second novel about Cicero uses Roman intrigue and power plays as the back drop for a really interesting and fast paced book that reads like a political thriller . The story is told from the viewpoint of Tiro, Cicero’s slave and personal secretary. Tiro actually invented a form of shorthand that gave us symbols like ’&’ and ‘etc.’, and he wrote a biography of Cicero that was used by a lot of scholars, but was eventually lost during the fall of the Roman Empire.
Harris makes ancient Rome very relatable and makes you understand the culture and politics while not getting bogged down in details. He’s got a knack for making all of the historical figures really come alive, especially Cicero and Julius Caesar. Even though I know how this story is going to end, Harris has kept me on the edge of my seat for this trilogy about Cicero, and I can’t wait for the third book.
Oh, and it’s set in ancient Rome. I wonder why it seems so familiar today?
Robert Harris second novel about Cicero uses Roman intrigue and power plays as the back drop for a really interesting and fast paced book that reads like a political thriller . The story is told from the viewpoint of Tiro, Cicero’s slave and personal secretary. Tiro actually invented a form of shorthand that gave us symbols like ’&’ and ‘etc.’, and he wrote a biography of Cicero that was used by a lot of scholars, but was eventually lost during the fall of the Roman Empire.
Harris makes ancient Rome very relatable and makes you understand the culture and politics while not getting bogged down in details. He’s got a knack for making all of the historical figures really come alive, especially Cicero and Julius Caesar. Even though I know how this story is going to end, Harris has kept me on the edge of my seat for this trilogy about Cicero, and I can’t wait for the third book.
March 19, 2023
BookTube channel with my awesome brother, Ed - The Brothers Gwynne
My personal BookTube channel - William Gwynne
Lustrum continues right from where we left of at the end of Imperium. Cicero hits a whole new stage of his career. A time that will determine how he goes down in history, as he manoeuvres with and around figures whose names have echoed down the millennium. Caesar, Crassus and Pompey continue to vie for power as Cicero also attempts to increase and hold his influence on Rome, but their aims differ significantly. Whilst Cicero loves the idea of Rome being democratic and the power laying with the senate, Caesar is setting in motions events that will change the very nature of the Roman Empire, and everything it stands for.
This is a great read with a lot of tension and a superb use of mystery, misinformation and political machinations. It is astounding that this is a story with very few likeable characters, and yet I still feel so invested in these events, and feel impacted by their outcome. That alone shows Robert Harris' craft as a writer.
“Well, well—be careful of what questions you ask, for fear of what answers you may receive.”
The dialogue, character dynamics and relationships rest art the core of the story, and it is from this brilliant base that the rest of the story springs to life. It feels real. it feels vivid and breathing. It is not over-the top or melodramatic, but brilliantly builds the tension to epic climactic scenes that act as catalysts for significant consequences, but usually provides this sense of dread and apprehension with minimal to no action sequences.
Historical fiction like I've never seen before.
4.5/5 STARS
My personal BookTube channel - William Gwynne
Lustrum continues right from where we left of at the end of Imperium. Cicero hits a whole new stage of his career. A time that will determine how he goes down in history, as he manoeuvres with and around figures whose names have echoed down the millennium. Caesar, Crassus and Pompey continue to vie for power as Cicero also attempts to increase and hold his influence on Rome, but their aims differ significantly. Whilst Cicero loves the idea of Rome being democratic and the power laying with the senate, Caesar is setting in motions events that will change the very nature of the Roman Empire, and everything it stands for.
This is a great read with a lot of tension and a superb use of mystery, misinformation and political machinations. It is astounding that this is a story with very few likeable characters, and yet I still feel so invested in these events, and feel impacted by their outcome. That alone shows Robert Harris' craft as a writer.
“Well, well—be careful of what questions you ask, for fear of what answers you may receive.”
The dialogue, character dynamics and relationships rest art the core of the story, and it is from this brilliant base that the rest of the story springs to life. It feels real. it feels vivid and breathing. It is not over-the top or melodramatic, but brilliantly builds the tension to epic climactic scenes that act as catalysts for significant consequences, but usually provides this sense of dread and apprehension with minimal to no action sequences.
Historical fiction like I've never seen before.
4.5/5 STARS
January 3, 2014
Once upon a time, novelists could be simultaneously serious and popular. Hemingway comes to mind, but even moreso Steinbeck, who had less literary pretension and more sustained and pointed topical engagement. Graham Greene aimed at once for contemporary relevance and durability, and more often than not hit the bull's-eye with later novels such as The Quiet American, The Comedians, and The Human Factor. Lesser, or at least less remembered, writers such as Morris West and Nevil Shute took seriously both the craft of storytelling and the novelist’s responsibility to have something of public significance to say.
The British writer Robert Harris is a throwback to this tradition: a novelist who embraces a public role – more for his books than for himself as a celebrity or personality – and who aspires both to entertain and to edify. None other than Nelson Mandela has called him “a writer who handles suspense like a literary Alfred Hitchcock.” He works with aplomb in several genres, from the fascinating counterfactual Nazi thriller Fatherland, to a fun and gripping imagining of Roman life and bureaucracy in Pompeii, to a brilliant, queasily political contemporary murder mystery involving a lightly fictionalized Tony Blair in The Ghost. Across an impressively wide range of subjects, Harris brings to bear a distinctively British blend of political shrewdness and lightly carried but impressive and genuine erudition. He’s one of those Englishmen who really did study Latin at one of those fancy high schools, but who is well bred enough not to leave his less couth reader feeling inferior for not having done so.
Lustrum (2010), retitled Conspirata for its US edition, makes good use of its author’s presumptive classical education. A sequel to Harris’s wonderful previous novel Imperium, it purports to be a portion of a recently unearthed candid memoir written by Tiro, slave and private secretary to the great Roman statesman and orator Cicero. The device provides a delicious fly-on-the-wall vantage for Harris to imagine, and us to witness, what really went on in the late days of the Roman Republic. It’s like watching a political multi-chariot pile-up.
Part of the fun of historical fiction generally, and a big part of the point of this novel in particular, is that we know all too well how things turned out in real life. There’s a lot of truth in the truism that historical fiction is really about the present day. “There are no lasting victories in politics, there is only the remorseless grinding forward of events,” reflects Tiro (and through him Harris, of course) at one point. “If my work has a moral, this is it.” Forty pages later, in case the reader hasn’t gotten the message yet, there’s this:
Cicero sighed and said, more to himself than to any of us, “I wonder what men will make of us a thousand years from now. Perhaps Caesar is right – this whole republic needs to be pulled down and built again. I tell you, I have grown to dislike these patricians as much as I dislike the mob – and they haven’t the excuse of poverty or ignorance.” And then again, a few moments later: “We have so much – our arts and learning, laws, treasure, slaves, the beauty of Italy, dominion over the entire earth – and yet why is it that some ineradicable impulse of the human mind always impels us to foul our own nest?” I surreptitiously made a note of both remarks.
Such didactic points are well taken, but Harris is too good a storyteller to lay them on thick. Lustrum is the best sort of historical fiction, replete with drawing-room skulduggery and tawdry goings-on demonstrating how little human beings have changed over the past two thousand-plus years.
The British writer Robert Harris is a throwback to this tradition: a novelist who embraces a public role – more for his books than for himself as a celebrity or personality – and who aspires both to entertain and to edify. None other than Nelson Mandela has called him “a writer who handles suspense like a literary Alfred Hitchcock.” He works with aplomb in several genres, from the fascinating counterfactual Nazi thriller Fatherland, to a fun and gripping imagining of Roman life and bureaucracy in Pompeii, to a brilliant, queasily political contemporary murder mystery involving a lightly fictionalized Tony Blair in The Ghost. Across an impressively wide range of subjects, Harris brings to bear a distinctively British blend of political shrewdness and lightly carried but impressive and genuine erudition. He’s one of those Englishmen who really did study Latin at one of those fancy high schools, but who is well bred enough not to leave his less couth reader feeling inferior for not having done so.
Lustrum (2010), retitled Conspirata for its US edition, makes good use of its author’s presumptive classical education. A sequel to Harris’s wonderful previous novel Imperium, it purports to be a portion of a recently unearthed candid memoir written by Tiro, slave and private secretary to the great Roman statesman and orator Cicero. The device provides a delicious fly-on-the-wall vantage for Harris to imagine, and us to witness, what really went on in the late days of the Roman Republic. It’s like watching a political multi-chariot pile-up.
Part of the fun of historical fiction generally, and a big part of the point of this novel in particular, is that we know all too well how things turned out in real life. There’s a lot of truth in the truism that historical fiction is really about the present day. “There are no lasting victories in politics, there is only the remorseless grinding forward of events,” reflects Tiro (and through him Harris, of course) at one point. “If my work has a moral, this is it.” Forty pages later, in case the reader hasn’t gotten the message yet, there’s this:
Cicero sighed and said, more to himself than to any of us, “I wonder what men will make of us a thousand years from now. Perhaps Caesar is right – this whole republic needs to be pulled down and built again. I tell you, I have grown to dislike these patricians as much as I dislike the mob – and they haven’t the excuse of poverty or ignorance.” And then again, a few moments later: “We have so much – our arts and learning, laws, treasure, slaves, the beauty of Italy, dominion over the entire earth – and yet why is it that some ineradicable impulse of the human mind always impels us to foul our own nest?” I surreptitiously made a note of both remarks.
Such didactic points are well taken, but Harris is too good a storyteller to lay them on thick. Lustrum is the best sort of historical fiction, replete with drawing-room skulduggery and tawdry goings-on demonstrating how little human beings have changed over the past two thousand-plus years.
February 17, 2017
This certainly has the correct title. Conspirata! Yes, in every sense. This is the second book of a trilogy upon Cicero's life and legend. Here he is risen to a commanding peak of influence, has his first year as Consul and "saves the Republic" several times. And he does just that, it's not an exaggeration. Because there are personalities rising and conspiring to make the Republic stray far from the Senate and Citizen voting as prescribed by the Roman Constitution. Catalina first and then a trio of others, not the least of which is our bird of prey nosed, broad shouldered and supremely arrogant Julius Caesar. Pompey is there in the trio mix. All the other characters both female and male are sublimely framed and each of their habits, abodes, compatriots, lovers, and haters set into their parts. Or should I BETTER say, their roles. Because they all play roles, and some of those during this particular changing Roman era play various roles quite expertly to differing people. Tiro is still waiting for his freedom and serving with superb notice of detail. And using his speed notation skills. At times for entire sessions and trials, beyond just the scope of Cicero's speeches or defense litigation.
This is far harder to conceptualize than the first book when Cicero was training his body and mind to play his role for Rome, for government, for family, for expression of excellence. Now each and every time the crisis of mob and patrician both comes to a peak crisis for power or defeat, there is another powerful head attached to be winnowed off. Harder than the Hydra- for every one head parried, it seems two more arise full blown of funds and/or the triumph of conquering battle or "friend" acquisition.
It's cabals and choirs. It's an absurd sacrilege against the Women's Blessed Goddess. It's too much glut of payoff from Macedonia. It's dozens of other eggs in the air that need to be constantly juggled. Which will fall? Getting rid of some of our players for a year? Defeating them for some time in exile sentencing or to govern a province? The further the better- but what if he comes home with not only that one but two other countries beyond that conquered! Will that comprise a defeat or just a delay?
And as his highest adulation by the masses seems to pass- how does Cicero grow to want that best view house? Is he STILL the valiant and ever striving for fairness, reason, and equity of a free republic as he was? Does he miss the continual adulation when he becomes a fixture in the forum.
This is a book that resembles the mazes of contortion to upward or downward on the politico wheels of fortune. The velvet tongue and clarity of verbal persuasions need to parry in circles. Without much rest, or back slapping joyful acknowledgment.
Robert Harris has done an excellent job on more than defining this man. His core, his goals, his self-identity, his strengths in control, his faults in age progression. And the Roman stage in such diverse and contrasting elements? Nearly perfect too in all its parts. For myself, I've only lost a little (.5 star) in being able to follow all the subtleties and nuances. The fault is mine for losing the enjoyment there within all this double face.
Now on to #3 Dictator. And I can see already that Cicero will never be able to keep all those eggs in the air, nor fare as well against the trio of conquerors conspired now together.
This book took three times as long to read for its length. So I'm going to give myself extra time with #3 and go very slowly.
This is far harder to conceptualize than the first book when Cicero was training his body and mind to play his role for Rome, for government, for family, for expression of excellence. Now each and every time the crisis of mob and patrician both comes to a peak crisis for power or defeat, there is another powerful head attached to be winnowed off. Harder than the Hydra- for every one head parried, it seems two more arise full blown of funds and/or the triumph of conquering battle or "friend" acquisition.
It's cabals and choirs. It's an absurd sacrilege against the Women's Blessed Goddess. It's too much glut of payoff from Macedonia. It's dozens of other eggs in the air that need to be constantly juggled. Which will fall? Getting rid of some of our players for a year? Defeating them for some time in exile sentencing or to govern a province? The further the better- but what if he comes home with not only that one but two other countries beyond that conquered! Will that comprise a defeat or just a delay?
And as his highest adulation by the masses seems to pass- how does Cicero grow to want that best view house? Is he STILL the valiant and ever striving for fairness, reason, and equity of a free republic as he was? Does he miss the continual adulation when he becomes a fixture in the forum.
This is a book that resembles the mazes of contortion to upward or downward on the politico wheels of fortune. The velvet tongue and clarity of verbal persuasions need to parry in circles. Without much rest, or back slapping joyful acknowledgment.
Robert Harris has done an excellent job on more than defining this man. His core, his goals, his self-identity, his strengths in control, his faults in age progression. And the Roman stage in such diverse and contrasting elements? Nearly perfect too in all its parts. For myself, I've only lost a little (.5 star) in being able to follow all the subtleties and nuances. The fault is mine for losing the enjoyment there within all this double face.
Now on to #3 Dictator. And I can see already that Cicero will never be able to keep all those eggs in the air, nor fare as well against the trio of conquerors conspired now together.
This book took three times as long to read for its length. So I'm going to give myself extra time with #3 and go very slowly.
September 2, 2017
4.5 stars
No idea why this book is also available under the title Conspirata. I have it as paperback and audio book as Lustrum and was a little confused when it came up under the previously mentioned title when I looked it up here on GR.
Anyway, Conspirata or Lustrum, this is the second book in the Cicero trilogy and my favourite, although it covers only approximately 4 years of Cicero's political and personal life.
Again, I listened to the audio version but, unlike with the first one Imperium, I'll leave the audio performance out.
At the end of the day, the book is an excellent account of Cicero's year as Consul that showcases his brilliance as orator as well as politician, and in which he has to exercise all his cunning and wit for his political and personal survival. Directly connected to his fate is also Rome's status as a republic that is under constant attack by no less than Ceasar, Pompey and Crassus, to name only the big players. It shouldn't come as surprise how a mélange of complacency on the people's part, the corruption on every level of governance and the ruthlessness of a few can undermine centuries old institutions and destroy the very foundation of a nation.
I don't really want to venture into current politics but one incident came to my mind when I was listening to Lustrum: The relentless personal attacks on the judges of the High Court earlier this year when they came to the conclusion that Article 50 needed Parliament's approval before the Prime Minister could trigger Brexit. It was a perfect example of mob rule, disgustingly backed up and spurred on by the right wing media, eroding institutions that are there to keep the balance.
Listening to Lustrum, I was once again reminded that in 2000 years we have learned nothing. But these are my own observations and interpretations, and they should not deter anyone from reading this wonderful piece of Historical Fiction.
In the end, Cicero stood no chance against the likes of Ceasar, Crassus and Pompey. It's utterly fascinating to watch the ever shifting loyalties, schemes and backstabbing. To blame the Big Three, who would eventually form the Triumvirate, is too easy, though. The second part covers the time after Cicero's consulship and shows how, at the height of his power and reputation, arrogance and hubris played just as much a role in his downfall. Finally finding his intellectual match in Julius Ceasar, the constant struggle for power between these two is most captivating.
Once again, Tiro, Cicero's house slave and invaluable secretary, as the narrator is the necessary barrier whose observations brings the story vividly to life.
I may be going through a book slump, and I may not be Bill Wallis's biggest fan when it comes to his narrative skills, but Lustrum is a marvellous story.
No idea why this book is also available under the title Conspirata. I have it as paperback and audio book as Lustrum and was a little confused when it came up under the previously mentioned title when I looked it up here on GR.
Anyway, Conspirata or Lustrum, this is the second book in the Cicero trilogy and my favourite, although it covers only approximately 4 years of Cicero's political and personal life.
Again, I listened to the audio version but, unlike with the first one Imperium, I'll leave the audio performance out.
At the end of the day, the book is an excellent account of Cicero's year as Consul that showcases his brilliance as orator as well as politician, and in which he has to exercise all his cunning and wit for his political and personal survival. Directly connected to his fate is also Rome's status as a republic that is under constant attack by no less than Ceasar, Pompey and Crassus, to name only the big players. It shouldn't come as surprise how a mélange of complacency on the people's part, the corruption on every level of governance and the ruthlessness of a few can undermine centuries old institutions and destroy the very foundation of a nation.
I don't really want to venture into current politics but one incident came to my mind when I was listening to Lustrum: The relentless personal attacks on the judges of the High Court earlier this year when they came to the conclusion that Article 50 needed Parliament's approval before the Prime Minister could trigger Brexit. It was a perfect example of mob rule, disgustingly backed up and spurred on by the right wing media, eroding institutions that are there to keep the balance.
Listening to Lustrum, I was once again reminded that in 2000 years we have learned nothing. But these are my own observations and interpretations, and they should not deter anyone from reading this wonderful piece of Historical Fiction.
In the end, Cicero stood no chance against the likes of Ceasar, Crassus and Pompey. It's utterly fascinating to watch the ever shifting loyalties, schemes and backstabbing. To blame the Big Three, who would eventually form the Triumvirate, is too easy, though. The second part covers the time after Cicero's consulship and shows how, at the height of his power and reputation, arrogance and hubris played just as much a role in his downfall. Finally finding his intellectual match in Julius Ceasar, the constant struggle for power between these two is most captivating.
Once again, Tiro, Cicero's house slave and invaluable secretary, as the narrator is the necessary barrier whose observations brings the story vividly to life.
I may be going through a book slump, and I may not be Bill Wallis's biggest fan when it comes to his narrative skills, but Lustrum is a marvellous story.
August 31, 2017
4 Stars - Fantastic book!
I hadn't planned to read this book (sequel to Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome) so soon, but it just worked out that way. I found my copy (a new copy I might add) of this book at a book sale in my hometown for $1 and couldn't resist. Robert Harris didn't disappoint and dare I say, exceeded my expectations for the second book in this series.
We pick up just about where Imperium left off. Tiro, Cicero's secretarial slave, once again narrates the life of his master and, when the book begins, Consul. We follow Cicero's life from consulship in 63 BCE to the start of his exile in 58 BCE. A lot happens in the five year span and that means that the reader is never bored. We see more of Caesar, Pompey, and Clodius, among Cicero's friends and enemies.
This book hits the ground running and it doesn't really slow down. There is more action in this book than in the first; however, the action is more political scheming rather than outright fights, though there is some of that as well. This book really is political fiction at its best. Reading about accusations and evidentiary corruption, bribery, back-door deal making was fascinating and made me think that not much has changed in politics - just a bit more tech savvy now.
I found that Cicero somehow simultaneously became both smarter and dumber in this one. He is undoubtedly a complex character and Harris did a great job of trying to capture that. He had to juggle his beliefs (I have a hard time calling them morals, even for Cicero) and practicalities of life along with his safety. I think that Harris did a great job of illustrating how illogical Cicero could be at times. there were certain points in the book where I was yelling at Cicero not to do X because even I could tell it would land him in trouble. (Just don't mess with Caesar... I mean come on). I will admit it's easy for me to say these things because I have the benefit of historical hindsight unlike Cicero. However even without it, anyone with half a brain could tell Caesar (or Clodius or even Rufus) was more powerful than he expected. I also think that's a theme or at least a fault of Cicero's. He seemed to, at critical points, underestimate the power the opposition had.
The ending is a juicy cliffhanger and I believe that says a lot considering I already knows what happens next. Anyone can Google what happens next in Cicero's story but Harris' writing makes me want to read his take on things, and that is a mark of an excellent writer - at least in my opinion.
Do I recommend this one? Absolutely! But I'd recommend reading Imperium first ,especially if you have zero background on Ancient Rome.
I hadn't planned to read this book (sequel to Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome) so soon, but it just worked out that way. I found my copy (a new copy I might add) of this book at a book sale in my hometown for $1 and couldn't resist. Robert Harris didn't disappoint and dare I say, exceeded my expectations for the second book in this series.
We pick up just about where Imperium left off. Tiro, Cicero's secretarial slave, once again narrates the life of his master and, when the book begins, Consul. We follow Cicero's life from consulship in 63 BCE to the start of his exile in 58 BCE. A lot happens in the five year span and that means that the reader is never bored. We see more of Caesar, Pompey, and Clodius, among Cicero's friends and enemies.
This book hits the ground running and it doesn't really slow down. There is more action in this book than in the first; however, the action is more political scheming rather than outright fights, though there is some of that as well. This book really is political fiction at its best. Reading about accusations and evidentiary corruption, bribery, back-door deal making was fascinating and made me think that not much has changed in politics - just a bit more tech savvy now.
I found that Cicero somehow simultaneously became both smarter and dumber in this one. He is undoubtedly a complex character and Harris did a great job of trying to capture that. He had to juggle his beliefs (I have a hard time calling them morals, even for Cicero) and practicalities of life along with his safety. I think that Harris did a great job of illustrating how illogical Cicero could be at times. there were certain points in the book where I was yelling at Cicero not to do X because even I could tell it would land him in trouble. (Just don't mess with Caesar... I mean come on). I will admit it's easy for me to say these things because I have the benefit of historical hindsight unlike Cicero. However even without it, anyone with half a brain could tell Caesar (or Clodius or even Rufus) was more powerful than he expected. I also think that's a theme or at least a fault of Cicero's. He seemed to, at critical points, underestimate the power the opposition had.
The ending is a juicy cliffhanger and I believe that says a lot considering I already knows what happens next. Anyone can Google what happens next in Cicero's story but Harris' writing makes me want to read his take on things, and that is a mark of an excellent writer - at least in my opinion.
Do I recommend this one? Absolutely! But I'd recommend reading Imperium first ,especially if you have zero background on Ancient Rome.
November 10, 2021
Read this book in 2009, and its the 2nd volume of the great "Cicero" trilogy, set in Ancient Rome.
The book starts in the year 63 BC, and Rome buzzing with seven men hungry for power, Consul Cicero, his ruthless rival Caesar, Rome greatest General at the moment Pompey, Crassus the richest man, the political fanatic Cato, Catalina a psychopath and an ambitious playboy Clodius.
These real historical rivals will ensure that this Roman world of cruelties and seductions, alliances and betrayals will come to fruition in all its hostility, and all this is witnessed by our narrator, Tiro, slave and confidential secretary to Cicero.
Various circumstances, like the child's mutilated body or and a scandalous trial, and not to forget the unleash the Roman mob, will set Rome in fire and death.
What is to follow is an intriguing and suspenseful historical tale about the horrors and tedious enticements that will take place to get that ultimate power, and in this world of betrayal and death Cicero must how seem to survive between these wolves hungry for power.
Highly recommended, for this is a superbly addition to this amazing trilogy, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Marvellous Cicero Lustrum Sequel"!
The book starts in the year 63 BC, and Rome buzzing with seven men hungry for power, Consul Cicero, his ruthless rival Caesar, Rome greatest General at the moment Pompey, Crassus the richest man, the political fanatic Cato, Catalina a psychopath and an ambitious playboy Clodius.
These real historical rivals will ensure that this Roman world of cruelties and seductions, alliances and betrayals will come to fruition in all its hostility, and all this is witnessed by our narrator, Tiro, slave and confidential secretary to Cicero.
Various circumstances, like the child's mutilated body or and a scandalous trial, and not to forget the unleash the Roman mob, will set Rome in fire and death.
What is to follow is an intriguing and suspenseful historical tale about the horrors and tedious enticements that will take place to get that ultimate power, and in this world of betrayal and death Cicero must how seem to survive between these wolves hungry for power.
Highly recommended, for this is a superbly addition to this amazing trilogy, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Marvellous Cicero Lustrum Sequel"!
August 13, 2014
A fictional account of Cicero's consulship and the years until his forced departure from Rome, written by his longtime slave and secretary, Tiro, Harris has again written a stupendous account of insider politics in the Senate. Tiro's narrative voice is generous but unsparing, exposing Cicero's greatness and pettiness.
It is hard not to draw parallels with contemporary politics, as populism is exploited; money of the wealthy buys election victories; and handsome men of dubious morals manipulate crowds.
The research underlying Harris' books is always exceptional and this one is no exception. The plot centers on the will to power but much of the enjoyment is in the small details of Roman life, culture and morality. A must-read ufor anyone fascinated by the Roman Republic.
It is hard not to draw parallels with contemporary politics, as populism is exploited; money of the wealthy buys election victories; and handsome men of dubious morals manipulate crowds.
The research underlying Harris' books is always exceptional and this one is no exception. The plot centers on the will to power but much of the enjoyment is in the small details of Roman life, culture and morality. A must-read ufor anyone fascinated by the Roman Republic.
did-not-finish
January 2, 2023DNF @ 33%
The names got to me this time and poor Tiro couldn't keep my attention like he did in the first book. I may reattempt eventually but it's doing nothing for me just now.
The names got to me this time and poor Tiro couldn't keep my attention like he did in the first book. I may reattempt eventually but it's doing nothing for me just now.
May 17, 2024
Lustrum by Robert Harris
Rating: 2 stars
Read date: 16 May 2024
Disclaimer: I don't read much historical fiction (ok - almost none).
This historical fiction novel is set in the Rome of 63 BC and approximately the following five years (hence the title Lustrum). This is the Rome in which Cicero is consul, "that" Caesar is his scheming young rival, Pompey is the republic's greatest general, and Crassus its the states richest man; also featuring psychopath Catilina, political fanatic Cato a political fanatic, and ambitious playboy Clodius. The story is told from the perspective of Cicero's trusted secretary and slave, Tiro.
For a book about discovering conspiracies within conspiracies (it is titled Conspirata in the USA), it came across as a straight forward political story with characters more concerned about political offices than anything else, which I found particularly tedious to read. I felt there was too much dialogue, the dialogue was somewhat stilted, and there was not enough action. In short, I found this book bland, but it did make a pretty good sedative.
Rating: 2 stars
Read date: 16 May 2024
Disclaimer: I don't read much historical fiction (ok - almost none).
This historical fiction novel is set in the Rome of 63 BC and approximately the following five years (hence the title Lustrum). This is the Rome in which Cicero is consul, "that" Caesar is his scheming young rival, Pompey is the republic's greatest general, and Crassus its the states richest man; also featuring psychopath Catilina, political fanatic Cato a political fanatic, and ambitious playboy Clodius. The story is told from the perspective of Cicero's trusted secretary and slave, Tiro.
For a book about discovering conspiracies within conspiracies (it is titled Conspirata in the USA), it came across as a straight forward political story with characters more concerned about political offices than anything else, which I found particularly tedious to read. I felt there was too much dialogue, the dialogue was somewhat stilted, and there was not enough action. In short, I found this book bland, but it did make a pretty good sedative.
April 3, 2024
A good sequel to Imperium continuing the story of Cicero told but his slave and secretary Tiro. Cicero becomes Consul and must contend with the political machinations of Julius Caesar a megalomaniac power hungry madman.
Cicero manages to quell a plan to bring down Rome but with the return of Pompey things start to go wrong. Lots of intrigue as Cicero fights to save the republic and avoid a dictatorship. Harris captures the life of Rome with the wealth and squalor, betrayal and tension of the times well.
Look forward to reading the final book in the trilogy.
Cicero manages to quell a plan to bring down Rome but with the return of Pompey things start to go wrong. Lots of intrigue as Cicero fights to save the republic and avoid a dictatorship. Harris captures the life of Rome with the wealth and squalor, betrayal and tension of the times well.
Look forward to reading the final book in the trilogy.
July 22, 2017
As brilliant as the first book - this series is so dramatic, so engaging and so historically fascinating. I highly recommend.
March 28, 2024
Малко хора осъзнават, че физическото насилие е основата на всяка власт и на всяка държавност. Или както е казал великият мъдрец Майк Тайсън: "Всеки има план, докато не го джаснеш в носа."
Основно много умни, високо интелектуални и високо културни хора не осъзнават това - прекарали целия си живот в размяна на учени, мъдри или остроумни аргументи и свикнали така да побеждават или да губят в полето на живота, фактът че грубото насилие може да победи даже най умния аргумент им идва като абсолютен шок.
Животът на Цицерон е печално доказателство за това - считан за най-великия оратор на своето време, изключителен адвокат и политик, той практически прекарва цялата си политическа кариера в борби с хора, на които не им пука от неговото ораторско майсторство, осъзнали, че ако имаш армия или тълпа зад себе си, никой закон или вдъхновена реч не може да те спре да правиш каквото искаш.
Втората част от романизираната поредица за живота му може да бъде с подзаглавие "Възход и падение", защото описва неговото справяне със заговора на Катилина и провъзгласяването му от сената за Баща на Отечеството и последвалото в рамките на месеци тотално обръщане на общественото мнение срещу него и бягството му в изгнание.
Основно много умни, високо интелектуални и високо културни хора не осъзнават това - прекарали целия си живот в размяна на учени, мъдри или остроумни аргументи и свикнали така да побеждават или да губят в полето на живота, фактът че грубото насилие може да победи даже най умния аргумент им идва като абсолютен шок.
Животът на Цицерон е печално доказателство за това - считан за най-великия оратор на своето време, изключителен адвокат и политик, той практически прекарва цялата си политическа кариера в борби с хора, на които не им пука от неговото ораторско майсторство, осъзнали, че ако имаш армия или тълпа зад себе си, никой закон или вдъхновена реч не може да те спре да правиш каквото искаш.
Втората част от романизираната поредица за живота му може да бъде с подзаглавие "Възход и падение", защото описва неговото справяне със заговора на Катилина и провъзгласяването му от сената за Баща на Отечеството и последвалото в рамките на месеци тотално обръщане на общественото мнение срещу него и бягството му в изгнание.
May 12, 2010
This is by far Robert Harris' best novel about ancient Rome so far. Like it's predecessors it is scrupulously accurate, but unlike them, it is also genuinely exciting, with vivid scenes and living, believable characters. This one shows the great orator Cicero at the highest and then the lowest points of his career--first the defeat of Catiline's conspiracy with Cicero given the great honor of being named "pater patriae"--then just a few years later his being driven into exile by his political enemies. Complicated politics, double and triple crosses, manipulations, huge egos, all wrapped up in some of the most pivotal events in the history of the Western world. For the first time I have a clear picture of what Caesar might really have been like, and I can begin to understand how his brand of megalomania differed from that of his rival Pompey. And how both differed from the third most powerful man in the world, Crassus. And what was at stake for semi-virtuous men like Cicero who tried to be effective players in their political universe, where a miscalculation could lead not just to a lost vote, but to execution. I'm very much looking forward to the final installment in this trilogy.
February 7, 2023
4.25 - This is not a book I would ever pick up on my own and yet I really, really liked it. So far this series has been a great surprise for me. This book in particular really upped the humor. The antics and shenanigans that the Sentators/consuls/Roman leaders got away with was appalling. Blackmail, bribery, assassinations, retroactive laws, puppet rulers, the list goes on. Don't like a new bill? Just attack the person proposing it before they get to senate. I caught myself laughing out loud numerous times.
I'm becoming much more interested in this time period, especially learning different POVs. Cicero, while clearly having a silver tongue, is still a super shady individual. Went down the rabbit hole numerous times looking up facts from this time period, trying to connect people and events. Its all been truly fascinating and I'm looking forward to see what happens with Cicero in the next book.
I'm becoming much more interested in this time period, especially learning different POVs. Cicero, while clearly having a silver tongue, is still a super shady individual. Went down the rabbit hole numerous times looking up facts from this time period, trying to connect people and events. Its all been truly fascinating and I'm looking forward to see what happens with Cicero in the next book.
July 4, 2021
Just hook me directly up to this stuff
May 24, 2020
I thought I had written a review!
I basically loved the same things that I loved in the first book:
- the writing-style is still good and fluid,
- I still love that Tiro is the narrator: it's less biased that if Cicero were the narrator. We get to see his qualities but also his flaws, the mistakes he makes, how and why he makes them. Tiro is really moving: he is writing years after the events, from accounts he made during Cicero's lifetime. He is alone now, and knows that the end of his life is coming. I almost cried when he mentions the smell of the papers that reminds him of the time past, and he almost cries: typical "madeleine de Proust" and it always gets me!
- Cicero is a flawed man, but the reader sympathizes with him, probably thanks to Tiro being the narrator. We keep seeing him rise and risk his life to ascend the Roman political ladder. There were plots, schemes and intrigues to make him fall but also to make him ascend. Nobody is black or white, they're all painted in shades of grey. Some are just unbearable though!
- the reader clearly "lives" in Rome with Cicero and his relatives. It was great to get to see this side of Roman life, it felt genuine,
- I was moved by some scenes: mostly, it were Tiro's words that touched me!
Only flaw: there was a kind of hollow moment at some point.
So, this book was up to the first one! Can't wait to read the final volume!
I basically loved the same things that I loved in the first book:
- the writing-style is still good and fluid,
- I still love that Tiro is the narrator: it's less biased that if Cicero were the narrator. We get to see his qualities but also his flaws, the mistakes he makes, how and why he makes them. Tiro is really moving: he is writing years after the events, from accounts he made during Cicero's lifetime. He is alone now, and knows that the end of his life is coming. I almost cried when he mentions the smell of the papers that reminds him of the time past, and he almost cries: typical "madeleine de Proust" and it always gets me!
- Cicero is a flawed man, but the reader sympathizes with him, probably thanks to Tiro being the narrator. We keep seeing him rise and risk his life to ascend the Roman political ladder. There were plots, schemes and intrigues to make him fall but also to make him ascend. Nobody is black or white, they're all painted in shades of grey. Some are just unbearable though!
- the reader clearly "lives" in Rome with Cicero and his relatives. It was great to get to see this side of Roman life, it felt genuine,
- I was moved by some scenes: mostly, it were Tiro's words that touched me!
Only flaw: there was a kind of hollow moment at some point.
So, this book was up to the first one! Can't wait to read the final volume!
December 18, 2022
this book is a lot like the first in the series, which is to say, bad at women but very very good at activating my roman history hyperfixation. because oh my god, is this a good book for a guy who’s obsessed with the late republic. harris has a talent for making politics that haven’t been relevant for 2000 years feel relevant, and for making them absolutely gripping; some of the jacket quotes call this a thriller, and yeah, it’s not really a murder mystery, but it’s got the same sort of relentless pace. he also has a talent for making these historical figures absolutely leap off the page; i don’t have much to say here that i didn’t say in the review for the first book, so i’ll add that the little easter eggs like the catullus reference made me absolutely delighted. also, julius caesar continues to cuck people, of which i’m a fan.
i also really continue to love the way harris writes cicero! cicero is one of those figures we HAVE a lot of information about; we know what he sounded like when speaking and writing because we can read his speeches and letters, and we have a sense of his personality from that. and so it’s wonderful to read a book where he comes across so clearly and with so much texture, like i could run into him on the street. the book also doesn’t shy away from showing his less attractive parts; i really enjoyed the shifting dynamic between cicero and tiro post-catiline-conspiracy, when cicero starts getting, in professional historical terms, really fucking annoying. (and because he’s written very well, i understood why he was really fucking annoying! when nobody believes you about a serious danger for a very long time, of course you’re going to bask in it when they finally reward you for knowing all along! but—oh god marcus tullius put down that pen and don’t even think about poetry!)
here is the thing, though: harris is bad at writing women. i know misogyny is Historically Accurate, but it’s possible to portray women as an oppressed class while also writing them as multidimensional characters, and this book doesn’t do that. terentia’s portrayal is better than in the first book (where she was mostly Nagging Shrew); she’s given more character depth as well as a lot more page time and plot weight. but that comes at the cost of this exchange in the last chapter:
OH FUCKING COME ON. i KNOW women in rome probably believed this to be true but this book came out in 2010???? i wouldn’t care so much if the Women-Exist-For-Men rhetoric was challenged even one time, or even implicitly, but it’s not, because guess what—terentia exists in this book to serve cicero’s narrative! marriage to him IS the entire purpose of her life, at least on a metanarrative level. i GET that this book is about him and not her, i GET it, but it would be cool if she were, like, a whole person.
and don’t even get me started on clodia. i know the real-life clodia had a reputation for promiscuity, and i know there was a real rumor that she had an incestuous relationship with her brother. i also know the romans were not very nice to women, so maybe it makes sense for tiro to be a little misogynistic in his narration. but god, you would think that if this book is going to call her a “trollop” unironically, it could give her a SINGLE crumb of the character development it offers to far worse people like caesar and pompey. like, even one crumb. as it is, we see her get yelled at by her husband, who THROWS SOMETHING AT HER (let me remind you that husbands held almost total power over their wives in rome), and then she’s cast as the bad guy for . we also get a lovely scene where she tries to . i wouldn’t be SO fuming mad about this (i understand that women had to resort to power through sexuality), if, again, she got a single crumb of development or was even allowed to show fear for her brother’s life instead of just being 100% Sexy Lady. and then we find out it wasn’t even her idea—it was her brother’s. so she doesn’t even get the agency of deciding to use her sexuality for politics. she’s just a doll the men toss around. cool. cool cool
this sequel is also, like the first book, uninterested in grappling with slavery except when it’s convenient. tiro claims to desperately want his freedom, but tiro doesn’t really want anything; he’s a lens through which the reader sees cicero. we only get actual emotion from him in a few isolated moments, and this makes his choice to a lot less poignant. i get what harris is going for, but it’s hard to make the moment land when 1. tiro hasn’t spent much time yearning for his freedom, just offhandedly mentioning that he Sure Would Like To Be Free and then going silent on the matter for a hundred pages; 2. tiro doesn’t mourn very intensely about . again, this book focuses on politics and conspiracies and thriller-like pacing; where it loses out, then, is this sort of emotional arc, which sort of works but could visibly work so much more effectively if the groundwork for it were laid.
this review makes it sound like i hated this book but guys i had so much fucking fun. thank GOD someone is out there writing (mostly-)well-written fiction about the late roman republic i am getting so much dopamine out of it. don’t let the pacing of this review fool you; i spent 90% of this very very excited and sometimes handflapping (and the other 10% closing my eyes whenever clodia came on page). VERY hype to read the third book and hopefully see my other historical blorbos (the second triumvirate)
i also really continue to love the way harris writes cicero! cicero is one of those figures we HAVE a lot of information about; we know what he sounded like when speaking and writing because we can read his speeches and letters, and we have a sense of his personality from that. and so it’s wonderful to read a book where he comes across so clearly and with so much texture, like i could run into him on the street. the book also doesn’t shy away from showing his less attractive parts; i really enjoyed the shifting dynamic between cicero and tiro post-catiline-conspiracy, when cicero starts getting, in professional historical terms, really fucking annoying. (and because he’s written very well, i understood why he was really fucking annoying! when nobody believes you about a serious danger for a very long time, of course you’re going to bask in it when they finally reward you for knowing all along! but—oh god marcus tullius put down that pen and don’t even think about poetry!)
here is the thing, though: harris is bad at writing women. i know misogyny is Historically Accurate, but it’s possible to portray women as an oppressed class while also writing them as multidimensional characters, and this book doesn’t do that. terentia’s portrayal is better than in the first book (where she was mostly Nagging Shrew); she’s given more character depth as well as a lot more page time and plot weight. but that comes at the cost of this exchange in the last chapter:
“I am sorry that marriage to me [Cicero] has brought you to such a sad state.”
“Marriage to you has been the only purpose of my life,” [Terentia] replied.
OH FUCKING COME ON. i KNOW women in rome probably believed this to be true but this book came out in 2010???? i wouldn’t care so much if the Women-Exist-For-Men rhetoric was challenged even one time, or even implicitly, but it’s not, because guess what—terentia exists in this book to serve cicero’s narrative! marriage to him IS the entire purpose of her life, at least on a metanarrative level. i GET that this book is about him and not her, i GET it, but it would be cool if she were, like, a whole person.
and don’t even get me started on clodia. i know the real-life clodia had a reputation for promiscuity, and i know there was a real rumor that she had an incestuous relationship with her brother. i also know the romans were not very nice to women, so maybe it makes sense for tiro to be a little misogynistic in his narration. but god, you would think that if this book is going to call her a “trollop” unironically, it could give her a SINGLE crumb of the character development it offers to far worse people like caesar and pompey. like, even one crumb. as it is, we see her get yelled at by her husband, who THROWS SOMETHING AT HER (let me remind you that husbands held almost total power over their wives in rome), and then she’s cast as the bad guy for . we also get a lovely scene where she tries to . i wouldn’t be SO fuming mad about this (i understand that women had to resort to power through sexuality), if, again, she got a single crumb of development or was even allowed to show fear for her brother’s life instead of just being 100% Sexy Lady. and then we find out it wasn’t even her idea—it was her brother’s. so she doesn’t even get the agency of deciding to use her sexuality for politics. she’s just a doll the men toss around. cool. cool cool
this sequel is also, like the first book, uninterested in grappling with slavery except when it’s convenient. tiro claims to desperately want his freedom, but tiro doesn’t really want anything; he’s a lens through which the reader sees cicero. we only get actual emotion from him in a few isolated moments, and this makes his choice to a lot less poignant. i get what harris is going for, but it’s hard to make the moment land when 1. tiro hasn’t spent much time yearning for his freedom, just offhandedly mentioning that he Sure Would Like To Be Free and then going silent on the matter for a hundred pages; 2. tiro doesn’t mourn very intensely about . again, this book focuses on politics and conspiracies and thriller-like pacing; where it loses out, then, is this sort of emotional arc, which sort of works but could visibly work so much more effectively if the groundwork for it were laid.
this review makes it sound like i hated this book but guys i had so much fucking fun. thank GOD someone is out there writing (mostly-)well-written fiction about the late roman republic i am getting so much dopamine out of it. don’t let the pacing of this review fool you; i spent 90% of this very very excited and sometimes handflapping (and the other 10% closing my eyes whenever clodia came on page). VERY hype to read the third book and hopefully see my other historical blorbos (the second triumvirate)
March 18, 2024
This book is the second in the Cicero Series. I read the first, Imperium, several years ago and enjoyed it. I found this one even more fascinating. It centers on Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC) and the politics of Rome around 63 BC. The story is told by Tiro, Cicero’s (real) scribe (and advisor and slave). It focuses on Cicero’s oratory skills and his rise to power as Consul in the Roman Senate. It highlights the many conflicts with his contemporaries, particularly Julius Caesar. Other key characters (among many) include Pompey, Clodius, and Cicero’s wife Terentia.
It is obviously well researched and follows the historic record. It starts with the murder of a young slave, but this is not the primary topic of the book (it’s not a murder mystery). It is top rate historical fiction. Although this is a trilogy, both the first and second books can be read as standalones. It probably helps to be at least somewhat familiar with this time frame in history, but Harris provides a list of players and terms for those who are not. I am impressed by Harris’s ability to write such an engrossing novel related to the workings of the Roman Senate. The characters are easy to picture and come across as real people. The machinations of Julius Caesar are particularly well drawn, leading up to his conversion of the Roman Republic into a dictatorship, the topic of the final book in the Trilogy, Dictator, which I definitely plan to read.
It is obviously well researched and follows the historic record. It starts with the murder of a young slave, but this is not the primary topic of the book (it’s not a murder mystery). It is top rate historical fiction. Although this is a trilogy, both the first and second books can be read as standalones. It probably helps to be at least somewhat familiar with this time frame in history, but Harris provides a list of players and terms for those who are not. I am impressed by Harris’s ability to write such an engrossing novel related to the workings of the Roman Senate. The characters are easy to picture and come across as real people. The machinations of Julius Caesar are particularly well drawn, leading up to his conversion of the Roman Republic into a dictatorship, the topic of the final book in the Trilogy, Dictator, which I definitely plan to read.
August 10, 2022
Segunda parte de la trilogía de Cicerón iniciada con “Imperium”. En esta novela histórica, Robert Harris mantiene el estilo de la anterior, combinando la rigurosidad histórica con un relato novelado ameno y ágil de leer, aunque en esta ocasión los hechos históricos obligan a que sea algo más denso que el anterior.
Si en la primera parte descubrimos el ascenso de Cicerón a la cumbre del poder en tiempos de la República, el consulado, habiendo sido testigos de su llegada a la política desde sus inicios como simple abogado poseedor de una inteligencia y elocuencia que eran sus únicas pero poderosas armas, en este volumen lo vemos sumergido de lleno en las intrigas del poder.
Durante la primera parte del libro, Cicerón se verá enfrentado a una conspiración para asesinarlo y hacerse con el control del estado: la conspiración de Catilina. De ella saldrá convertido en “Padre de la Patria”, adorado por el pueblo y el senado romanos (SPQR)… sólo para verse atrapado en las redes de otros conspiradores, aún más peligrosos que Catilina.
Asistiremos así durante la segunda parte del libro a las intrigas de Julio César para hacerse con el poder absoluto, retorciendo las leyes para llegar a relegar el poder del Senado e imponer el triunvirato de César, Pompeyo y Craso. Cicerón, incapaz esta vez de oponerse a la toma del poder por parte de estos poderosos enemigos, se verá envuelto en una campaña de desprestigio que culminará con su huida de Roma para evitar ser asesinado por un pueblo que, manejado por el populismo de César y sus acólitos, ha pasado de considerarlo un héroe a odiarlo con todas sus fuerzas.
Y aquí termina el libro, con un César que, listo para partir hacia las Galias con las legiones, sigue tejiendo sus redes para hacerse con el poder en solitario, mientras Cicerón parte al exilio, sólo y sin un céntimo. Habrá que esperar al tercer volumen para descubrir cómo César llega a convertirse en el primer emperador de Roma, terminando definitivamente con el sistema republicano, mientras ambos, César y Cicerón, se enfrentan a un destino común: el asesinato.
Seguiremos leyendo esta interesante trilogía.
Si en la primera parte descubrimos el ascenso de Cicerón a la cumbre del poder en tiempos de la República, el consulado, habiendo sido testigos de su llegada a la política desde sus inicios como simple abogado poseedor de una inteligencia y elocuencia que eran sus únicas pero poderosas armas, en este volumen lo vemos sumergido de lleno en las intrigas del poder.
Durante la primera parte del libro, Cicerón se verá enfrentado a una conspiración para asesinarlo y hacerse con el control del estado: la conspiración de Catilina. De ella saldrá convertido en “Padre de la Patria”, adorado por el pueblo y el senado romanos (SPQR)… sólo para verse atrapado en las redes de otros conspiradores, aún más peligrosos que Catilina.
Asistiremos así durante la segunda parte del libro a las intrigas de Julio César para hacerse con el poder absoluto, retorciendo las leyes para llegar a relegar el poder del Senado e imponer el triunvirato de César, Pompeyo y Craso. Cicerón, incapaz esta vez de oponerse a la toma del poder por parte de estos poderosos enemigos, se verá envuelto en una campaña de desprestigio que culminará con su huida de Roma para evitar ser asesinado por un pueblo que, manejado por el populismo de César y sus acólitos, ha pasado de considerarlo un héroe a odiarlo con todas sus fuerzas.
Y aquí termina el libro, con un César que, listo para partir hacia las Galias con las legiones, sigue tejiendo sus redes para hacerse con el poder en solitario, mientras Cicerón parte al exilio, sólo y sin un céntimo. Habrá que esperar al tercer volumen para descubrir cómo César llega a convertirse en el primer emperador de Roma, terminando definitivamente con el sistema republicano, mientras ambos, César y Cicerón, se enfrentan a un destino común: el asesinato.
Seguiremos leyendo esta interesante trilogía.
May 29, 2010
Well I was very excited to see this book and that Imperium was not meant to be standalone and is instead first in a series (going to guess that there might be one or most likely two more books left to go), since my main complaint with Imperium was that I wanted more. It took me a while to get into this one, the sequel, which is unusual for me when it comes to Robert Harris.
Not sure what it was that mildly irked me--I think he was taking steps to humanize Tiro more and make him a character than just straight up narrator, but it came on a little too evident (Agathe parts). That's a minor issue and I guess the book lags for most of the beginning and a good chunk of the middle because not a whole lot happens. Just Cicero trying to maneuver his way through Roman politics and gather evidence, so interesting but not edge of your seat suspense.
Harris has harder material to work with than say Robert Graves, since Claudius was looking back over the course of decades, and this Cicero series is compressed into a few years. I enjoyed this though and will happily read the rest of the series when they come out.
Not sure what it was that mildly irked me--I think he was taking steps to humanize Tiro more and make him a character than just straight up narrator, but it came on a little too evident (Agathe parts). That's a minor issue and I guess the book lags for most of the beginning and a good chunk of the middle because not a whole lot happens. Just Cicero trying to maneuver his way through Roman politics and gather evidence, so interesting but not edge of your seat suspense.
Harris has harder material to work with than say Robert Graves, since Claudius was looking back over the course of decades, and this Cicero series is compressed into a few years. I enjoyed this though and will happily read the rest of the series when they come out.
October 5, 2016
-En política, sobre todo en la trastienda, pocas cosas cambian con el tiempo.-
Género. Novela histórica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Ficción sobre la peculiar personalidad de Marco Tulio Cicerón y cuánto marco ésta, además de los acontecimientos ajenos a él, su mandato como cónsul en la Antigua Roma y los derroteros que tomó su vida política. Segundo libro de la trilogía Cicerón, cuyos volúmenes pueden leerse de forma totalmente independiente.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Novela histórica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Ficción sobre la peculiar personalidad de Marco Tulio Cicerón y cuánto marco ésta, además de los acontecimientos ajenos a él, su mandato como cónsul en la Antigua Roma y los derroteros que tomó su vida política. Segundo libro de la trilogía Cicerón, cuyos volúmenes pueden leerse de forma totalmente independiente.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
June 14, 2022
Bravo!
Robert Harris' Lustrum is another of his masterpieces. Historical fiction at its absolute Zenith.
Marcus Cicero, the greatest orator lived such an extraordinary life. Competing with powerful men such as Julius Caesar, Pompey The great or rich diabolical men like Crassus, the devil reincarnates themselves such as Catalina or Clodius or the beautiful, cunning women like Clodia, who will poison the most powerful men with a smile, Cicero remains one step ahead (though not always), by using his one power: Words.
And civilization is so lucky that this man so full of with and intelligence was followed everywhere by Tiro, the super-slave and the father of shorthand, who wrote it all down. ( Although the savage Huns destroyed most of his writings).
Tiro gave us the abbreviations such as "etc., e.g., i.e., and the ampersand &" and a style we use to this day.
Such an escape reading this because you are completely enveloped inside the political world of Rome during Rome's most amazing Lustrum (5 years) starting in 63 BC.
Thank God a third book awaits in this trilogy which I am off to now.
Carpe Diem!!!
Robert Harris' Lustrum is another of his masterpieces. Historical fiction at its absolute Zenith.
Marcus Cicero, the greatest orator lived such an extraordinary life. Competing with powerful men such as Julius Caesar, Pompey The great or rich diabolical men like Crassus, the devil reincarnates themselves such as Catalina or Clodius or the beautiful, cunning women like Clodia, who will poison the most powerful men with a smile, Cicero remains one step ahead (though not always), by using his one power: Words.
And civilization is so lucky that this man so full of with and intelligence was followed everywhere by Tiro, the super-slave and the father of shorthand, who wrote it all down. ( Although the savage Huns destroyed most of his writings).
Tiro gave us the abbreviations such as "etc., e.g., i.e., and the ampersand &" and a style we use to this day.
Such an escape reading this because you are completely enveloped inside the political world of Rome during Rome's most amazing Lustrum (5 years) starting in 63 BC.
Thank God a third book awaits in this trilogy which I am off to now.
Carpe Diem!!!
November 27, 2025
Excellent fast paced historical-political thriller!
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