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Review ------ The rise of Robert Harris as one of the UK's premier novelists has been something of a phenomenon. His breakthrough book was, of course, herland, and even though the premise (Germany had won the Second World War and occupied Britain) was not original, the was astonishingly assured. From that date onwards, a series of remarkable books flowed from his metaphorical pen: Archangel, Enigma and the much-accled Ghost. But if one element has distinguished Harris’s career, it is his wholly admirable refusal to be typecast with regard to genre. The thriller may be his natural home, but he has shown an immense skill at dealing with historical subjects and the past: one of his most impressive novels was the massive and ambitious Pompeii (recently on the point of being filmed by Roman Polanski before his own past came back to haunt him). And here's Lustrum, another historical novel that cannily utilises elements of the thriller but attempts something far more challenging than most proponents of that genre. Harris’s continuing theme is the battle for power, and this Rome-set narrative deals with the years around 63BC when Cicero was Consul of Rome, building to the unstoppable accession to power of the canny and ruthless Caesar. Rome, in the process of consolidating its massive empire, resounds to the sounds of a no-holds-barred struggle for influence. The protagonists here are the canny consul Cicero, the equally Machiavellian Caesar, the Republic's eminent general Pompey and the hyper-rich Crassus. These real historical figures (and others, including the psychopathic Catilina) are stirred into a very heady brew by Robert Harris, beginning when the body of a child, grotesquely mutilated, is discovered. The trial and execution that follows plunges the city of Rome into a ferment as destabilising as anything it has faced. This is Robert Harris at his considerable best, evoking the ancient past with a vividness that few of his contemporaries can muster. But apart from the richly detailed historical pageant on offer in Lustrum, the real coup of the book lies in the creation of the character of Cicero: wonderfully realised, with all the contradictions and charm of his nature acting as the perfect fulcrum for this sprawling but utterly persuasive narrative. --Barry Forshaw Review ------ "Harris is the master. With Lustrum, [he] has surpassed himself. It is one of the most exciting thrillers I have ever read" (Peter Jones Evening Standard) "Harris communicates such a strong sense of imperial Rome - the book is awesomely well-informed about the minutiae of everyday life" (Guardian) "Thoroughly engaging ... The allure of power and the perils that attend it have seldom been so brilliantly anatomised in a thriller" (Sunday Times) "Harris never makes his comparisons between Rome and modern Britain explicit, but they are certainly there. And that's the principal charm of his ancient thrillers - their up-to-dateness" (Sunday Telegraph) "Magnificent ... Better than Robert Graves's Claudius novels" (Allan Massie Standpoint) Book Description ---------------- The stunning new novel from the No. 1 bestselling author of herland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, Imperium and The Ghost. Synopsis -------- 63 BC, the year when Cicero is consul. Most of his time in office is devoted to uncovering and thwarting a violent conspiracy to overthrow the state, ostensibly led by Crassus and a group of disaffected senators. Underlying this is the great rivalry between Cicero and Caesar, who represent two different types of ambition: one orthodox, the other revolutionary. As Caesar's power grows Cicero must face the inevitable compromises that come from holding power - is it justifiable to use illegal methods in order to save the Republic? Robert Harris yet again proves himself a master of historical fiction as he takes the reader to the heart of republican Rome with a novel that is at once brilliantly researched and utterly gripping. From the Back Cover ------------------- Praise for Robert Harris 'A writer who handles suspense like a literary Alfred Hitchcock' Nelson Mandela, Guardian Praise for Pompeii 'Blazingly exciting... Harris gives full vent to his genius for thrilling narrative' Peter Kemp, Sunday Times Praise for The Ghost 'An unputdownable thriller about corrupt power and sex, written with an insider's mischievous intimacy' Books of the Year, Sunday Telegraph Praise for Imperium 'Effortlessly slick and enjoyable... Harris handles the big set pieces superbly, especially a knock-down, drag-out fight for the consulship... Bring on the next instalment' Economist About the Author ---------------- Robert Harris is the author of herland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, Imperium and The Ghost, all of which were international bestsellers. His work has been translated into thirty-seven languages. After graduating with a degree in English from Cambridge University, he worked as a reporter for the BBC's Panorama and Newsnight programmes, before becoming political editor of the Observer and subsequently a columnist on the Sunday Times and the Daily Telegraph. He is married to Gill Hornby and they live with their four children in a village near Hungerford.