Imperium by Robert Harris (author of Pompeiiand The Ghost) is the first of Harris’ trilogy of Cicero. Cicero is an interesting, but occasionally overlooked historical figure. But what would you expect of someone who lived at the same time as Spartacus, Pompey, Crassus, Julius Caesar, Marc Antony and Augustus. Unlike most of the other famous people from this time frame, Cicero isn’t a military commander, he’s a lawyer and speechmaker. But what a speechmaker he is. Cicero is one of the few people who can control a country by the force of his words alone.

Marcus Tullius Cicero was born outside Rome to a wealthy, but not politically connected family. He was well educated. He had a brief military career, which was enough to convince him that he wasn’t a miltary man, and then started a law career. At the age of 31 he became a quaestor (a starting point for Roman politicians) in Sicily. The Sicilians thought so highly of Cicero that they asked him to prosecute Verres (who acted unethically as Governor of Sicily to enrich himself).

The prosecution of Verres takes up most of the first half of the book. Cicero was up against the lawyer Hortensius, who was known as the best orator in Rome. After much political wrangling, Cicero blasted Verres with a speech that was so well done, that Hortensius told Verres to leave the city. With that speech, Cicero’s name and career was made.

The rest of the book is comprised of political maneuverings between Pompey and Crassus while Cicero rises through the Senate. The book ends with Cicero campaigning for and winning the office of consul.

The book is written as a biography by Tiro, a slave and confidant of Cicero. There is a historical record of Tiro having written a biography of Cicero which has been lost to time.  This manner of writing the novel allows Harris to allude to future events and show Cicero’s inner circle by someone who would have been there for all of them. The book ends as Cicero takes the office of Consul and we know what is coming, not only in the following year, but in the coming decades. This book does a great job of detailing the rise of Cicero, from promising student to the most powerful politician in Rome.