From the bestselling author of Pompeii comes the first volume in an exciting new trilogy set in ancient Rome — an imaginary biography of Cicero, Rome’s first and greatest politician.

Of all the great figures of Roman times, none was more fascinating or attractive than Marcus Cicero. A brilliant lawyer and orator, a famous wit and philosopher, he launched himself at the age of twenty-seven into the violent, treacherous world of Roman politics. Cicero was determined to attain imperium, the supreme power in the state. Beside him at all times in his struggle to reach the top — the office of Consul — was his confidential secretary, Tiro. An accomplished man, Tiro was the inventor of shorthand and the author of numerous books, including a famous life of Cicero, unfortunately lost in the Dark Ages.

In Imperium, Robert Harris recreates Tiro’s vanished masterpiece, recounting in vivid detail the story of Cicero’s rise to power, from radical young lawyer to first citizen of Rome, competing with men such as Pompey, Caesar, Crassus and Cato.

Harris’s Cicero is an immensely sympathetic figure. In his introduction to this imaginary memoir, Taro states: “Cicero was unique in the history of the Roman republic in that he pursued supreme power with no resources to help him apart from his own talent... All he had was his voice, and by sheer effort of will, he turned it into the most famous voice in the world.”-- From the Hardcover edition.

羅伯特·哈裏斯，一九五七年齣生於英國諾丁漢，就讀於劍橋大學塞爾文學院時已展露齣過人纔華，畢業後先後工作於英國廣播公司、《觀察傢報》，並擔任《星期日泰晤士報》和《每日電訊報》專欄作傢。二00三年，羅伯特·哈裏斯榮獲英國新聞業者的最高榮譽、英國新聞業的奧斯卡——年度最佳專欄作傢——的殊榮。他自一九九三年開始小說創作，首次齣版的《祖國》（Fatherland）常被與奧威爾的名作《1984》相比。此後的《密碼迷情》（Enigma）、《大天使》（Archangel）、《龐貝》（Pompeii）都是風靡歐美的暢銷小說。其作品常常被拍攝成影視作品，國際大導演羅曼·波蘭斯基對哈裏斯的小說推崇備至。《最高權力》所屬的西塞羅三部麯，是他截至目前最重要，也是最受歡迎的作品。