Conspirata by Robert Harris (published in the UK as Lustrum) is the sequel to Imperium(review) and the middle book of Harris’ Cicero trilogy. Where Imperium covered the rise of Cicero, Conspirata shows his downfall. And as Cicero’s influence starts to wane, another’s starts to rise, Julius Caesar. Cicero finds himself on the wrong side of history not long after he is celebrated for saving the city.

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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.

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