Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome

Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome

From the bestselling author of <i>Fatherland</i> and <i>Pompeii</i>, comes the first novel of a trilogy about the struggle for power in ancient Rome.<br><br>In his €œmost accomplished work to date€ (<i>Los Angeles Times</i>), master of historical fiction Robert Harris lures readers back in time to the compelling life of Roman Senator Marcus Cicero. The re-creation of a vanished biography written by his household slave and righthand man, Tiro, Imperium follows Cicero€s extraordinary struggle to attain supreme power in Rome.<br> <br>On a cold November morning, Tiro opens the door to find a terrified, bedraggled stranger begging for help. Once a Sicilian aristocrat, the man was robbed by the corrupt Roman governor, Verres, who is now trying to convict him under false pretenses and sentence him to a violent death. The man claims that only the great senator Marcus Cicero, one of Rome€s most ambitious lawyers and spellbinding orators, can bring him justice in a crooked society manipulated by the villainous governor. But for Cicero, it is a chance to prove himself worthy of absolute power. What follows is one of the most gripping courtroom dramas in history, and the beginning of a quest for political glory by a man who fought his way to the top using only his voice€"defeating the most daunting figures in Roman history.