Dictator (Cicero #3) by Robert Harris

Confirms Harris’s undisputed place as our leading master of both the historical and contemporary thriller’ Daily Mail There was a time when Cicero held Caesar’s life in the palm of his hand. But now Caesar is the dominant figure and Cicero’s life is in ruins. Cicero’s comeback requires wit, skill and courage. And for a brief and glorious period, the legendary orator is once more the supreme senator in Rome. But politics is never static and no statesman, however cunning, can safeguard against the ambition and corruption of others. ‘The finest fictional treatment of Ancient Rome in the English language’ The Scotsman

About Robert Harris

ROBERT 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.

My Review

Dictator the third book in the Cicero trilogy, by Robert Harris, is a magnificent read bringing to life the end of the Roman Republic, the First Triumvirate, and the rise and fall of Julius Caesar the dictator, as told by Tiro, confidential secretary to Cicero. It was a brave undertaking to depict the life of Cicero, famed as a master of philosophy, rhetoric, law, and politics. His speeches to the Senate were spellbinding to read. I particularly was enthralled by the relationship Cicero had with his secretary Tiro, who was indeed a slave but regarded as a brother to the great man. This has been a book that I will never forget and probably would want to re-read at some point in the future.