Orator: The Life of Cicero and the End of the Roman Republic
5999
Orator: The Life of Cicero and the End of the Roman Republic
5999
A gripping new biography of one of the most influential and fascinating figures in classical history: Cicero 'A triumph... thrillingly entertaining' OBSERVER 'A wonderful book' TOM HOLLAND 'Excellent... the go-to biography of Cicero' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 'The greatest orator of the Roman world' THE TIMES A gripping new biography of one of the most influential and fascinating figures in classical history: Cicero When the Roman statesman Cicero was murdered in 43 BCE, his head was cut off and his tongue pierced with pins - a final, brutal act of revenge against a man whose words had shaped a generation and made him many enemies. Rising from provincial obscurity to the highest elected office in Rome, Cicero became the greatest orator of his age, a figure who believed that speech itself could defend a republic. Yet Cicero was far more than a master of rhetoric. His long and turbulent life unfolded alongside the collapse of the Roman Republic, and often at its very centre. He moved among Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, crushed a conspiracy that threatened the foundations of Rome and cast himself as the republic's last hope. His writings on politics, philosophy and society would prove enormously influential, while his uneasy response to the rise of autocratic power continues to provoke admiration and debate. In this gripping new biography, the distinguished classicist Catharine Edwards brings Cicero vividly to life, revealing both the brilliance and the contradictions of a man caught between principle and ambition. At a moment when democratic institutions feel fragile, and the power of persuasion is once again under scrutiny, Cicero's life speaks to us with renewed urgency.
A triumph... as thrillingly entertaining as Robert Harris's celebrated trilogy of Cicero novels * Observer *
Excellent... the go-to biography of Cicero and a perceptive guide to his world * Times Literary Supplement *
A pacy narrative... Edwards brilliantly presents the much neglected Cicero, Man of Action * Spectator *
A good biography of Cicero and the bloody age in which he tried to maintain the old ways... Edwards rehabilitates him as the greatest orator of the Roman world * Patrick Kidd, The Times *
Excellent... Orator offers a panoramic view of Cicero’s achievements and frailties as a human being, a politician, an orator, and a philosopher – and this is no small task * The Critic *
Compelling... A truly informative account of Rome in crisis * Literary Review *
Wonderful... Edwards has done a marvellous job of showing us Cicero the man, the scholar and the politician in highly entertaining style * Emma Southon, author of A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women *
A man of thought in an age of thugs, a pen amongst swords: every age needs its Cicero and Edwards has written a resonant Cicero for ours * Peter Stothard, author of Palatine: An Alternative History of the Caesars *
Edwards has crafted an intimate and deeply informed portrait of a man struggling to make sense of his world’s slide into civil war and chaos… Compelling and beautifully written * Eve MacDonald, author of Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire *
Details
ISBN13: 9781529152258
Format: Hardback
Number of Pages: 464
Edition:
Publication Date: 03 Nov 2026
Publisher: Cornerstone
Publication City, Country: United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 24.3(H)x16.4(L)x4.2(W)720
Weight (gm): 720
Author Biography
Catharine Edwards is a professor of Classics and Ancient History at Birkbeck, University of London where she has taught since 2001, and is one of the world's foremost experts on Roman History. A Fellow of the British Academy, she has published extensively on Roman cultural history. She translated Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars for Oxford World's Classics, is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's In Our Time, presented a three-part TV series on Roman imperial women for BBC Four in 2018, and writes regularly for the Times Literary Supplement.Reviews
A wonderful book. The complexities and paradoxes of Cicero’s character are as fascinating as those which characterised the Roman Republic in the final decades of its existence – and no biography I have read does richer justice to both * Tom Holland, author of Rubicon and co-host of The Rest is History *A triumph... as thrillingly entertaining as Robert Harris's celebrated trilogy of Cicero novels * Observer *
Excellent... the go-to biography of Cicero and a perceptive guide to his world * Times Literary Supplement *
A pacy narrative... Edwards brilliantly presents the much neglected Cicero, Man of Action * Spectator *
A good biography of Cicero and the bloody age in which he tried to maintain the old ways... Edwards rehabilitates him as the greatest orator of the Roman world * Patrick Kidd, The Times *
Excellent... Orator offers a panoramic view of Cicero’s achievements and frailties as a human being, a politician, an orator, and a philosopher – and this is no small task * The Critic *
Compelling... A truly informative account of Rome in crisis * Literary Review *
Wonderful... Edwards has done a marvellous job of showing us Cicero the man, the scholar and the politician in highly entertaining style * Emma Southon, author of A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women *
A man of thought in an age of thugs, a pen amongst swords: every age needs its Cicero and Edwards has written a resonant Cicero for ours * Peter Stothard, author of Palatine: An Alternative History of the Caesars *
Edwards has crafted an intimate and deeply informed portrait of a man struggling to make sense of his world’s slide into civil war and chaos… Compelling and beautifully written * Eve MacDonald, author of Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire *