Robert Harris: Imperium

If you’ve only just dropped Latin after seven gruelling years, you might still love this book because it will show you that the annoying old codger Cicero was really rather interesting. If you are still doing Latin, all the better, because Robert Harris will bring the world of the late Roman Republic to blinding light and make you really excited about your choice of Leistungskurs.

So what is this book about? In Imperium, Robert Harris tracks the early career of the homo novus Marcus Tullius Cicero who set out to conquer the republic, armed only with his wits, his voice and his wife’s fortune. Dull stuff, you say, but it’s really anything but. Remember Gaius Verres, the corrupt governor of Sicily? The trial against him will leave you completely breathless, and so will Cicero’s campaign for the consulship. When I read this book on my holiday, my family found me impossible to talk to for a day or so until I’d finished it.

Told from the point of view of Cicero’s secretary and slave Tiro, the novel isn’t at all difficult to read. The best thing is that Harris has promised to write two more books about Cicero’s life. I can’t wait – and believe me, I loathed the guy in Latin class.

Genre: Historical fiction, thriller, bestseller
Boy appeal: considerable. It’s all about power.
Girl appeal: don’t pretend you’re not interested in power, girls. If you’re not, you really ought to be.

You will like this book if: you already suspected that politics has always been a dirty job; if you have a score to settle with the Latin language.

Edit: I just found an interesting interview with Harris in The Times, in which he talks about his fascinations with politics as an art.