Dictator

Cicero once had Caesar's fate in his hands, but the balance has shifted. Caesar now stands at the centre of Roman power, while Cicero has lost nearly everything. He is banished from the city, cut off from his wife and children, stripped of his property, and hunted by enemies who wish him dead. Haunted by the choice he made to give up power rather than betray his principles, he sets out to win back his place. It demands sharp wit, practical skill and real nerve, and for a short, dazzling spell he again becomes the foremost voice in the Senate. Yet Roman politics never stands still, and even the most astute statesman cannot guard himself against the ambitions and corruption of those around him.

This is the third and final novel in Robert Harris's Cicero trilogy, following Imperium and Lustrum. The story is told by Tiro, Cicero's loyal secretary and former slave, who witnesses his master's rise and fall at close quarters. The novel is set in the last years of the Roman Republic, when Caesar's power was growing into something no one had seen before.