Dictator

I remember the cries of Caesar’s war-horns chasing us over the darkened fields of Latium – their yearning, keening howls, like animals on heat – and how when they stopped there was only the slither of our shoes on the icy road and the urgent panting of our breath.

There was a time when Cicero held Caesar's life in the palm of his hand. But now Caesar is the dominant figure and Cicero's life is in ruins.

Cicero's comeback requires wit, skill and courage. And for a brief and glorious period, the legendary orator is once more the supreme senator in Rome. But politics is never static. And no statesman, however cunning, can safeguard against the ambition and corruption of others.

Riveting and tumultuous, Dictator encompasses some of the most epic events in human history yet is also an intimate portrait of a brilliant, flawed, frequently fearful yet ultimately brave man - a hero for his time and for ours. This is an unforgettable tour de force from a master storyteller.

‘The finest fictional treatment of Ancient Rome in the English language.’ – The Scotsman

‘Harris's Cicero trilogy deserves the highest compliment that can be paid to a work of historical fiction: it is easily mistaken for history’ - The Times

A consistent career-long favourite of Waterstones’ customers, Robert Harris is a heavyweight of historical fiction with a knack for creating page-turning political thrillers with literary credence. Best known for the ‘what if’ masterpiece Fatherland and his Cicero series as well as the controversial Blairite-era roman à clef, The Ghost Harris is never less than consistently excellent, balancing on that most delicate tight-rope where challenging and thought-provoking literature meets page-turning entertainment.