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Title details for Imperium by Robert Harris - Wait list

Imperium

A Novel of Ancient Rome

#1 in series

by Robert Harris
Oliver Ford Davies
Audiobook
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0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 6 weeks
From the bestselling author of Fatherland and Pompeii, comes the first novel of a trilogy about the struggle for power in ancient Rome.
In his "most accomplished work to date" (Los Angeles Times), 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.

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.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Cicero

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    September 19, 2006

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780743561846
      • File size: 364860 KB
      • Duration: 12:40:07

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Welcome to a political adventure set in Imperial Rome--or is it Washington? The ambitions and intrigue surrounding the great Roman orator and advocate Cicero have some delicious parallels in contemporary politics. Narrator Simon Jones immerses listeners in the world presented by Cicero's facile scribe (and slave), Tiro, who recounts the events of Cicero's career. Jones makes the endless Latin names seem effortless, keeping each character straight and tossing off the names as easily as if they were his most familiar friends. In print this would likely bog down many readers--in audio each new character (and name) is welcomed. Details of Roman culture and history surround the senators, consuls, generals, and scoundrels. Jones makes Cicero's rise to power an engrossing listening experience. R.F.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Crooked senators, rigged elections, bribed judges. Sound familiar? No, it isn't Washington circa 2006. It's Rome 2,000 years ago. Into this governmental murderous melee comes young Marcus Cicero, determined to attain his imperium--the ultimate power. His slave, Tiro, chronicles Cicero's rise to that power. Portraying Tiro, as well as Cicero, and other superstars of ancient Rome, including Julius Caesar, Oliver Ford Davies is unsurpassable in making all the historical events and players as accessible as today's headlines. No easy feat since Cicero is considered one of the world's greatest orators. Robert Harris's epic is presented here in a fitting epic production, but it is Davies's pacing, phrasing, and emotionally peaked presentation that make this the best historical listening experience of the year. M.T.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 24, 2006
      Bestselling British author Harris (Pompeii
      ; Enigma
      ) returns to ancient Rome for this entertaining and enlightening novel of Marcus Cicero's rise to power. Narrated by a household slave named Tiro, who actually served as Cicero's "confidential secretary" for 36 years, this fictional biography follows the statesman and orator from his early career as an outsider—a "new man" from the provinces—to his election to the consulship, Rome's highest office, in 64 B.C. Loathed by the aristocrats, Cicero lived by his wits in a tireless quest for imperium—the ultimate power of life and death—and achieves "his life's ambition" after uncovering a plot by Marcus Crassus and Julius Caesar to rig the elections and seize control of the government. Harris's description of Rome's labyrinthine, and sometimes deadly, political scene is fascinating and instructive. The action is relentless, and readers will be disappointed when Harris leaves Cicero at the moment of his greatest triumph. Given Cicero's stormy consulship, his continuing opposition to Julius Caesar and his own assassination, readers can only hope a sequel is in the works. Until then, this serves as a superb first act. 350,000 announced first priting; 10-city author tour.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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