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Conspirata: A Novel of Ancient Rome

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Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon penned a piece called "Cicero Superstar." In her overview of this illustrious Roman's life she noted that his preserved letters contain some laments about a lack of confidants: " 'I go down to the Forum surrounded by droves of friends, but in the whole crowd I can find no one to whim I can make an unguarded joke or let out a friendly sigh.' " Well, Robert Harris mitigates this somewhat by making Tiro, the scribe, someone upon whom Cicero relies and and trusts with sensitive matters. As Harris notes, Cicero did write to his slave stenographer, " 'Your services to me are beyond count.' " Both Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome and now Conspirata: A Novel of Ancient Rome are narrated by a Tiro who serves as confidant and advisor. At times this stretches credibility -- especially when Tiro archly, though mildly, implies he is smarter than his master and paints himself the hero. However, CONSPIRATA does not really suffer from this device; Tiro supplies an "common" view of Cicero that a fellow Senator, for example, wouldn't as convincingly convey.

Cicero himself, through Tiro's eyes, is a man whose vanity sometimes gets the better of him, who isn't above a bit of graft, and who is occasionally politically tone deaf. But one never loses sight of this statesman's intrinsic desire to serve his republic with integrity and honor.

CONSPIRATA covers 63-59 B.C. This "lustrum" -- meaning five-year duration (the title (Lustrum: A Novel) was chosen for the previously published British edition) -- began with Cicero's momentous one-year term as consul. In the following four years, he was celebrated as "pater patriae" (father of his country) but then suffered a drastic downturn in political and economic fortunes as Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus seized power. This novel introduces a gruesome murder mystery in the first pages that leads to an internecine conspiracy against the republic. The book convincingly traces the path that Cicero might in reality have followed in order to finally reach the defining decision of his consulship, namely that several high-ranking Romans should be executed without formal trial.

Presumably, at least one more volume will be forthcoming to finish this story of Cicero's struggle with Rome's more dictatorial powers-that-be. In that final novel, perhaps we will read more about Cicero as philosopher since after this lustrum he wrote his celebrated dialogues DE REPUBLICA and DE LEGIBUS (found herein: M. Tullius Ciceronis De Re Publica, De Legibus, Cato Maior de Senectute, Laelius de Amicitia (Oxford Classical Texts)) -- and many of his approximately eight hundred surviving letters.

Quoting from another of those missives, Glendon aligned Cicero's worries about "whether, when, and how far to compromise for the sake of advancing his most cherished cause -- the preservation of the traditional system he called republican" with current relevancies about government strength and form. As with IMPERIUM, Harris uses CONSPIRATA to accomplish precisely the same thing: he depicts Cicero's Rome as a decaying republic being pulled into tyranny, and in the political chicanery and intrigue of ancient times, one sees the indubitable reflections of modern problems with aging "democracies" that are leaning too far toward bread, circuses and central authority.

CONSPIRATA is a worthy successor to IMPERIUM, although it is more concerned with plot than its predecessor and gives the impression of being a more hastily written novel. IMPERIUM developed its plot at a relatively leisurely pace in order to build a character portrait; CONSPIRATA hastens -- sometimes summing up little things like wars in a few paragraphs -- to focus on particular actions in Cicero's life. Regardless, it too is entertaining, enriches understanding of Cicero and his compatriots, and it unquestionably reminds us that if we do not keep the lessons of history uppermost in our minds, we could well repeat the patterns of Cicero's Rome.

Power politics is an ugly business, whether it's played in the halls of the Senate in 21st century Washington, or the Senate of Republican Rome in the first century BC. Harris could have chosen to set his thriller in the former; happily for readers he has opted instead to tell a story of high-stakes political games-playing featuring the celebrated orator Cicero and the ruthlessly ambitious military leader, Julius Caesar. When the novel opens, Cicero is on top of the world -- literally and rhetorically. He's on the roof of his house, studying the skies for omens as he begins his year as Consul, the ultimate authority in Rome. Even his carping wife seems happy.

Then there's a murder on the day of his accession to power -- and while the mystery never really occupies center stage in this drama, it's an ominous sign of the plots that are being brewed by Cicero's political foes behind the scene, including some of Rome's most noble families. As in the first volume of this projected trilogy, Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome, the tale of Cicero's year as consul and the conspiracy he must combat and resolve, even if it means going against his own principles, is told through the eyes of his slave and scribe, Tiro. Above all, however, this is the story of Cicero's realization that the most dangerous threat to the Roman Republic he cherishes may remain and be embodied in one of its increasingly popular military leaders: Caesar. Seeing Caesar through Tiro's eyes gave me an entirely fresh sense of how he might have been perceived not only by his aristocratic peers or a 'new man' like Cicero but by the broader population of Rome on whose support he would craft the beginnings of what would become an empire. It's an absolutely chilling portrait of someone who to the outward world appears intelligent, committed and effective, and yet who is utterly cold and manipulative.

I enjoyed the first volume of this saga so much that I didn't want to wait for the second to be published in the U.S., but ordered it from the U.K. when it appeared last year. I wasn't disappointed, and was even happy to fork over the extra $10 shipping fee to get it as soon as I could after a yearlong publishing delay. Now I'm condemned to wait another year or two for the third and final volume to appear, it feels like torture.

This is a book that anyone who has read Colleen McCullough's immense seven-volume series starting with The First Man in Rome will relish. Even better, it's a fast-paced version of some of the events covered in those books that will appeal to anyone who shied away from McCullough's books as being either too ponderous, excessively detailed or simply way too long. This is the story of the decline and fall of the Roman republic, the collapse of a political ideal, through the eyes of Cicero, who still cherishes that ideal and that system. The timing of his rise to the top at a time when being ruler of Rome means he must grapple with the harsh truth that his idea of Rome and the reality are no longer the same is as heartbreaking as in any classical tragedy. The suspense doesn't falter, the historical accuracy is remarkable and Harris's crisp style is admirable.

Highly recommended; I can't wait for the next installment.

Like its predecessor "Imperium", Conspirata is a very gripping book. If this book could be summed up in one line it would be "Cicero Plays Political Chess with Caesar".

This book begins just prior to the Cataline conspiracies and ends on the day Cicero is exiled by his 'one time friend' Clodius. The 5 year period the book covers focuses on Cicero's Consulship, the Cataline conspiracies (there were to some degree two conspiracies) and the First Triumvirate. While Cicero isn't completely unscrupulous he does manage to uphold some moral standard to protect the Republic (he wasn't called the 'righteous pagan' by the Catholic Church for nothing).

Two things I warn the reader about:

1. If you are a Caesarphile and believe that Julius Caesar was a nice guy killed by an evil Senate then you may not like this book. Shakespeare impressed upon me that Caesar was rather innocent and did not deserve his fate. This book shows Caesar in another light and makes one literally yell out loud for Cicero to execute Caesar while he had the chance.

2. The book starts a little slow at the beginning of his consulship. Don't worry it doesn't take long to pick up speed.

While you don't need to read the first Robert Harris book about Cicero 'Imperium' I recommend that you do. Imperium is a quick read and it really sets the stage for Conspirata; explaining more about Cicero the 'human' than the 'oratory machine'.

If you like historical fiction you cannot go wrong with this book. I am looking forward to the next book Harris writes about Cicero.

Halfway through "Conspirata", I had one of those terrible epiphanies, the sort that usually only strike middle-aged men in dead-end jobs just before they either leap out the window or take up organic farming. And the epiphany was this: There really is no point to this.

"Conspirata" is the second in a series of novels by British author and former political correspondent Robert Harris, based on the life of famous Roman statesman and orator, Marcus Cicero. The first book, "Imperium", charted his rise from ambitious lawyer to his election as consul, the highest political office in Rome. The narrator in both books is Tiro, a slave owned by Cicero and something of a historical figure himself, thanks to his purported invention of a system of shorthand (though Mr Harris erroneously also attributes the invention of the ampersand, "&", to him).

Readers drawn by the martial-looking eagle on the cover, or who assume any Roman epic is going to involve gladiators, orgies and crucifixions will be cruelly disappointed. "West Wing" fans will be pleased, though. This is a political drama, proudly all talk and no action, where the climactic scenes take place on the rostra, not the colliseum. The single, solitary episode of toga-lifting naughtiness, a tryst between Tiro and a slave of another household, takes place firmly off-camera.

Instead, Mr Harris throws us headlong into the political arena, when Cicero uncovers evidence of a plot against both himself and the City of Rome. The plotters are never much of a mystery, and the focus is instead on how to outmaneuver them. Once they are defeated, the focus in the second half of the novel shifts to Cicero's diminished status once his term of office ends, and on the rise of a fellow named Julius Ceasar in the ensuing vacuum.

Mr Harris displays a casual knowledge of the inner workings of Roman government, but despite the notes provided at the end of the book it can sometimes be a headache to keep your praetors separated from your tribunes, your augurs from your pontifex, your Metelli from your Claudians. Indeed, there is precious little description of anything outside of Senate speeches and private intrigues. The storytelling is competent but uninspiring. Certainly, no Cicero.

I say the novel is "based on" the life of Cicero, but this is doing Mr Harris a disservice. Heck, this IS the life of Cicero. "Conspirata" is first-rate history, which sadly sometimes makes it second-rate entertainment. Ostensibly a novel, the story line hews so closely to historical fact that five minutes on Wikipedia ruined the entire plot for me. For a work of historical fiction, this is too much history, too little fiction. Mr Harris neither alters nor adds to the facts, never suggests an alternative interpretation, never illustrates some unrecorded adventure. The whole thing soon becomes a bit like being cornered at a party by a dreadfully earnest history professor.

This flaw is exacerbated by Mr Harris's choice of Tiro as narrator and Cicero as subject. Particularly during the second half of the book, once Cicero's term as consul is over, he is reduced to mere bystander in greater events. That makes our man Tiro peripheral to the periphery, a third-hand news source doubly removed from all the action. Here you have Julius Ceasar, Rome's most ambitious and ruthless man, Pompey, her greatest general, and Crassus, her richest man, seizing control of the republic, but we see none of it.

It was then that the epiphany hit me. Why bother reading "Conspirata", when a history book would achieve much the same end?

The limited insights Mr Harris offers us are that Cicero was patriotic, Ceasar unscrupulous, Pompey vain and Crassus dim. What is the point of historical fiction, if not to make suggestions, interpretations or changes, to fill in the missing pages or otherwise doodle in the margins of history's textbooks? Why write a novel if not to present us with a work of fiction? This is not a bad book; the plot plows along straightforwardly, characterization is consistent if a little thin. Mr Harris just doesn't seem to have anyting particularly interesting to say about any of it.

Now if you will excuse me, I have some organic vegetables to tend to.

CONSPIRATA is the second installment in Robert Harris's historical fiction trilogy about ancient Rome. As the book opens, we meet the Roman orator and statesman, Marcus Tullius Cicero, on the eve of his inauguration as consul of Rome. Busy preparing his speech, he is interrupted by an urgent message from the local magistrate telling him he is needed at once. Answering the summons, he finds himself staring at the body of a young boy who, from the look of his wounds, has been scarified. Horrified by what he has seen but knowing he needs to keep peace, he announces to the gathering onlookers that it is not a sacrifice but a mere drowning. Disturbed, he returns home to his speech, doing his best to put the scene --- and what the boy's death might mean for him and for Rome --- out of his head.

Cicero's consulship dawns, and soon after, enemies begin to surface. He finds himself becoming more and more paranoid about his fellow Senators and surrounds himself with bodyguards. He fears an assignation attempt on his life and a takeover of Rome, but his attempts to prosecute those he believes to be involved fail. He gathers men around him and makes deals with others he despises to save the republic and himself in the process. Shortly before his consulship is to end, a plan to overtake Rome is thwarted, and Cicero is honored as a hero and father of the Republic.

Not having the family lineage of the elite Roman families, Cicero sets out to create the image for himself and in the process begins friendships with rather dubious individuals. After his consulship, Cicero no longer follows Senate life closely anymore, but his enemies don't stray far even as he distances himself from the Senate. Busy writing his memoirs and himself into history as one of the most brilliant Senators ever known to the Roman people, Cicero gets pulled --- unwillingly and almost unknowingly --- into the deadly intrigue seeping into the city.

Several factions begin plans to take over not only the Senate but also Rome itself. A power struggle between the Roman General Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar is short-lived until the two align themselves and bring soldiers into the city, making it look as if it's been taken over --- all of this under the pretense of protecting the citizens. Cicero, fearing once again for his life with the new powers rising in Rome, finds himself in a precarious situation with no options left but to abandon all he knows and loves.

This story is told by Tiro, Cicero's loyal servant and secretary. Tiro's recounting of the events and Cicero's actions feels almost factual as he is still playing the part of secretary here. While Cicero is off creating his new history of himself, Tiro gives the reader a different impression, one of a man who has lost his way. It adds a nice touch and makes these dominant figures feel human.

Harris manages to keep the suspense high throughout most of the book, but there was one small thing that did bother me: the language seems too modern. I'm not suggesting Latin would be better, but some of the dialogue sounded as if my closest friends were speaking and not ancient Roman figures. It pulled me out of the story in a few places, although, in the end, it wasn't enough to ruin the book for me. If you like Roman history, Harris does a good job of keeping your interest peaked.

Although the ending is wrapped up nicely, Harris does leave you wanting more. There's more than enough intrigue left in this story for a third novel, and I expect fans will be wondering what's next for the famous orator.

--- Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski

Politics is an occupation that, if it is to be pursued successfully, demands the most extraordinary reserves of self-discipline, a quality that the naïve often mistake for hypocrisy. (see page 337)

The fictional narrator of this historical novel is a historical character: Cicero's secretary Tiro. He tells us the events of the year 63 BC, when Cicero was Consul, and the following 4 years. The period ends with the rule of the `first triumvirate', an unofficial alliance between Caesar, Pompey and Crassus, which pushed Cicero to the sidelines after he had rejected an invitation to join the club, and with Cicero's exile from Rome.
5 year periods were called a `lustrum', which is the title of the UK edition of this novel. The US title is obviously meant to be more attractive to the market. I don't understand why different titles are needed, but I have a suspicion that US publishers take their clients for dumber than necessary.

The narrator speaks or writes half a century after the events. He reached the ripe age of nearly 100. Cicero was not so lucky, as he was murdered just a year after Caesar, in 43 BC. The historical Tiro is credited with inventing shorthand. He is the first known clerk to take notes during a senate session. (The Roman senate was a different animal from the current US senate. It was not a legislative body, and its members, once elected, were in it for life, unless kicked out for misbehavior.)
This novel is a sequel to `Imperium', which told us of Cicero's previous career.
It starts shortly before his inauguration as Consul. The conspiracy of the title is known as Catilina's. Cicero spent a lot of effort in suppressing this rebellion. One of Cicero's problems was that he came from a relatively modest background and had little genuine power other than his rhetorical and political skills.

The Consul in the Roman Republic was a rather ephemeral position: 2 of them were elected at the same time every year, to share the position for a year, alternating monthly as Presidents of the Senate. In other words, each was head of government for six intermittent months. Hard to see how that could lead to good government, but who are we to talk down on other times and societies, considering contemporary mess with hung parliaments and divided houses and minority cabinets and tea parties.

Cicero found himself in between two mill stones: the factions of the patricians and the populists. The latter included the ambitious up and coming politician called Caesar. Politics was a bloody game and civil war was a definite possibility most of the time.
The main name associated with Cicero's troubles over the following years was Catilina, who started a rebellion and caused serious danger to Cicero and the republic. The danger to Cicero was not even over when Catilina was dead.

The novel is interesting and sometimes suspenseful, and it seems factually accurate enough, as far as I can tell. Still, it leaves me less enthusiastic than its predecessor (Imperium). Harris is a leader of the genre of historical thrillers, with some sidesteps into alternative history. He writes straightforward prose, adequate for his hero Tiro's shorthand. He is not a wordsmith. We should be thankful that he stays away from pretensions. On the other hand it stays rather dry, which makes the tone of the narrative a bit trivial at times. The book is worth reading for Harris fans and for history buffs with an interest in Rome. The thrill seeker will be disappointed. Not even the occasional gore will keep him interested. It is a suitable case study for a leadership seminar.

Harris likes to spice up his tale with parallels to modern times. Consider this nice quote from Senator Cato the Younger (page 91/92): `We are meddling in places we know nothing about! Now we have occupied Syria. Syria! What business do we have in Syria? Next it will be Egypt. This is going to require permanent legions stationed overseas. ... and whoever raises a voice against it will be condemned for his lack of patriotism.'
Plus ça change!
I assume it is pure coincidence that the general who killed Catilina and beat his rebel force was called Petreius.

Called "Lustrum" in the British edition, this second volume about Cicero's life - again as told by his scretary-slave Tiro - begins where the first one ("Imperium" - see my review) had left off, with Cicero now Consul; the first part of the book is about the year of his consulship. I found it a little less gripping than the first. That may not be because this book is inferior to its predecessor. Maybe I had just become too familiar with Harris' techniques: the descriptions of Rome as a city, of Roman institutions, of the Roman mobs. The principal characters are again very well drawn, but maybe the profusion of lesser, hard-to-remember names and relationships is even greater than before, and the introduction of some of them could well have been omitted. The Dramatis Personae at the end of the book is inadequate (as again is the map). Maybe all the scheming and skullduggery of the politicians had become more wearisome to read about this time (a feeling that overcomes me at times when I read about the equivalent in our own times). Cicero himself is now a less attractive figure (as indeed he may have become): his tricks have become seedier, though they are in the public interest. I was reminded of Cavour's saying: `if we did for ourselves what we do for our country, what rascals we should be!" To his credit, he is sickened by having to vote for and witness the results of executions.

The book opens with a gruesomely murdered sacrificial victim which, we soon learn, was part of an oath by Catiline and his cronies to murder Cicero. Although it takes some time before this strand of the story matures, it does eventually appear that the pivot of the first part of the book is the battle between Cicero and the savage and blood-thirsty Catiline. Catiline is not only a threat to Cicero but plotted to seize power in Rome by rebellion. That threat gave Cicero the chance not only to save himself, but to gain glory as the saviour of Rome. The climax of this episode is one Harris' fine set pieces.

There is no grandeur in the second part of the book. Cicero's consulship had come to an end; but the praise he had won for saving Rome from Catiline had gone to his head. His character deteriorated further - his open vanity and boastfulness knew no limits; he became corrupt in his acquisition of wealth which he then flaunted. He allowed himself to be drawn into a vendetta with Clodius, another demagogue who turned out to be every bit as dangerous an enemy as Catiline had been. Cicero still saw himself as the saviour of the Roman Republic, but his prestige declined; he was isolated and outwitted by the triumvirate of Caesar (ever his enemy, and portrayed in this book as the most cunning, suave, ambitious and unscrupulous of politicians), Pompey and Crassus - an isolation to which he himself contributed by a speech in a law court in which that brilliant orator allowed his passion to get the better of his political sense. Caesar now unleashed Clodius, with devastating consequences for Cicero. Cicero's career would seem to have come to its desolate end (and again these last scenes are memorably described by Harris); but Roman politics in that age took many unexpected turns, and there is a third volume to come.

The late era of the Roman Republic has a unique appeal to many Western readers because of its many similarities to the present day. "Conspirata" by Robert Harris is a superlatively good novel about the political career of Marcus Tullius Cicero, the great Roman Senator and advocate. This novel is the second installment in Harris' planned trilogy, following "Imperium." It is told from the first person perspective of Cicero's slave and indispensable assistant "Tiro" who indeed did write a biography of Cicero which has, unfortunately, been lost to history.

"Conspirata" takes the reader through the time during which Cicero was Consul of Rome, which office was the closest thing (excepting the occasional office of "dictator") that the Roman Republic had to a chief executive. The novel shows that Roman politics were, if anything, even more convoluted than our own, with conspiracies and cross-conspiracies constantly threatening the status quo.

This novel provides possibly the best novelization that I have come across of the Cataline Conspiracy. Historians as well as novelists have differed as to the nature of this episode of Roman history. Here, Harris makes a case that it was real, and that none other than Julius Caesar was involved in it. Harris' Caesar is portrayed very different than the moral, physical, and mental superman that Colleen McCollough makes him out to be in her "Masters of Rome" series. Here, Caesar is shown as a formidable, frightfully ambitious and ruthless man bent on achieving one-man rule of the Roman Republic. In fact, Harris seems to show that Caesar always intended to essentially remake the Roman Republic, the institutions of which he viewed as archaic and unsuited to the governance of an empire as opposed to a city-state. Of course, if that was Caesar's view, history has shown him to be correct. Certainly Harris' portrayal of Caesar is far more consistent with Caesar's later seizure of power after crossing the Rubicon. In fact, it seemed to me that Harris has a deeper and more nuanced understanding of such timeless Roman figures as Cato, Cicero, Crassus, and Pompey than did McCulloch in her series of novels.

This is a very well-written novel that will appeal to almost all readers who have an interest in Roman history. It may be too detailed for someone with little knowledge of the Roman Republic looking for a quick read, but for enthusiasts, this is a must-read. Highly recommended. RJB

I had previously read about the Cataline conspiracy and the Clodius scandal in histories of the period, but also in John Maddox Roberts' entertaining mysteries ("The Cataline Conspiracy" and "Sacrilege"). However, I think both stories are retold in more coherent and plausible fashion here, although with less of a "mystery novel" approach.

Just bought this novel and what a disappointment to discover that I already read the book under the title 'Lustrum'. It is exactly the same book, just different title, different publisher. Amazon, this should be mentioned somewhere!

So for all the Robert Harris fans out there: don't make the same mistake.