About this deal
Aquí el Sr Harris nos cuenta solo juicios de Cicerón o mini-intrigas con rivales políticos de la época. The novel delves into the darker corners of Roman politics, where conspiracy and ambition lead to a tumultuous and dangerous landscape.
Por suerte, hay un breve momento de integridad en el que Cicerón se mantiene firme en sus principios gracias al nacimiento de su primer hijo varón. He, Lucius, his cousin, and Tiro gather a lot of incriminating evidence, particularly after a raid on the office of the tax collectors in Syracuse where they find out about the extent of Verres's extortion from a set of duplicate records (the originals have been removed) kept by Vibius, the financial director during Verres's term of office.
Robert Harris has Tiro, Cicero's scribe/clerk, writing the linear in time progressions of his younger "coming up" to power years. Featuring names that have echoed down the ages such as Caesar, Crassus, Pompey and more, this is a book that is largely political with action not at the forefront, yet the tension is rife throughout this tale, and it feels epic in scale, as you know the consequences of the results of these events will effect all who fall within the realms of the Roman Empire. I wish an author’s note, distinguishing between what is fact and what fiction, had been added, and in some way those lines that are quotes of Cicero should have been made identifiable.
When Tiro, the confidential secretary of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events which will eventually propel his master into one of the most famous courtroom dramas in history. At one point, he had to present his entire legal defense to her to convince her she would get her money's worth. With only ten days to go until the games of Pompey the Great, Cicero follows Terentia's advice and makes a short, withering speech saying he will make his case in the space of ten days.
Moreover, Harris's Cicero is a brilliantly realized character - a man of great intellect and eloquence, yet filled with doubts and vulnerabilities. As Cicero faces his stiffest opposition yet in his run for consul, we see the cracks in the facade of the Republic.