Dictator (Harris novel)

Dictator is a historical novel by British author Robert Harris, published in 2015, which concludes his trilogy about the life of the Roman lawyer, politician and orator, Cicero (106–43 BC). Dictator follows the first novel Imperium (2006) and the second novel Lustrum (2009). It is both a biography of Cicero and a tapestry of Rome in the time of Pompey, Crassus, Cato, Caesar, Clodius and ultimately Octavian.

In Harris's summary: "Thus Imperium describes the rise to power, Lustrum the years in power and Dictator the repercussions of power." All three novels were adapted for the stage in 2017 by Mike Poulton.

Plot summary

The story is told through Tiro, secretary of Cicero, detailing Cicero's last fifteen years. It begins with Cicero fleeing Publius Clodius Pulcher and his mob in Rome and going into exile in Thessalonica. He is able to return to Rome after more than a year under the promise to support Julius Caesar. Back in Rome, he attempts to revive the Roman Republic, but the forces against this are too strong. Rule by a triumvirate—Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus—eventually becomes rule by one man when Caesar takes control through civil war. Caesar becomes too powerful and is murdered by a group led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus, and Marcus Junius Brutus.