Novels set in Ancient Rome are always
hampered by the perceptions that people have of life there 2000 years ago. For many years Roman history has suffered from being the
history of great men. Of senators, generals and of course Emperors.
That's not to say that novels based around such individuals cannot be
entertaining and informative.Nonetheless because the history (and the documents) we have of the period tend to be those of “great” individuals, novels tend to follow similar paths, if only because the material available to form the backdrop for such lives is more readily accessible.
Robert Harris has
now written a number of novels set in the ancient past. I wasn't
overly impressed with the first of these Pompeii. But Imperium is a
much stronger novel. Even though it centres on some of the most
important figures of the late Republic, Harris avoids the trap of
forgetting about the majority of the population because his narrator
is Tiro, the extremely talented slave of the famous lawyer and
counsel, Marcus Cicero.
Harris has done his
research well. Many of the events in this book (which is in effect
two linked shorter stories) are based in reality. The novel itself is
supposed to be a biography of Cicero, and such a book (at least
according to Plutarch) did exist, though tragically it has been lost
to us since. Cicero is portrayed not simply as a brilliant orator. He
also holds a mind of tactical genius and a singular determination to
reach the peaks of power that were offered during Republican Rome.
Thus while centring
on a particularly dramatic legal case (of extreme corruption and
abuse of power by a Roman governor) and a political intrigue several
years later, the main thread of the story is Cicero's struggle to
achieve recognised greatness, seen through the eyes of his most
important slave.
The backdrop to this is the decline of Republican Rome and the beginnings of the rise of the era of the Emperors. But behind all of this are the interests and struggles of Rome's different classes. The ruling class are aloof from the majority of the population, though a middling layer (of whom Cicero is a New Man) form a link between the top of the system and the masses below. Cicero's clients include those from the lower levels of society who often have been failed by the system as well as those who are more wealthy but seek redress. The masses by and large are a stage army, who give their loyalty to those politicians who have managed to either offer them the most in the way of bread and circuses or improved their lot. In Harris' telling Cicero is a man of the people, struggling against the excesses of the aristocracy and hence beloved by many ordinary people.
The backdrop to this is the decline of Republican Rome and the beginnings of the rise of the era of the Emperors. But behind all of this are the interests and struggles of Rome's different classes. The ruling class are aloof from the majority of the population, though a middling layer (of whom Cicero is a New Man) form a link between the top of the system and the masses below. Cicero's clients include those from the lower levels of society who often have been failed by the system as well as those who are more wealthy but seek redress. The masses by and large are a stage army, who give their loyalty to those politicians who have managed to either offer them the most in the way of bread and circuses or improved their lot. In Harris' telling Cicero is a man of the people, struggling against the excesses of the aristocracy and hence beloved by many ordinary people.
While Harris
captures the limitations of Rome's democracy and brilliantly portrays
the excesses and corruption of the majority of the ruling class, his portrayal of the dynamics of the mass of the population
seems rather more one dimensional. This is very much exposed in the
references to Grachuss, the reforming politician who was murdered by
the ruling class for attempting to redistribute land in the interest
of the masses. It is in these short paragraphs where you get a feel
for how mass, class interests could shape Roman politics in a way
that is absent elsewhere in the story.
Ultimately though
this is the tale of a few individuals, despite Rome being the
backdrop. Harris gives the reader a plausible tale of what life was
like, the sights, smells, over-crowding and problems in the ancient
capital. The dreams of freedom of Tiro are poignant and seem real,
and if on occasion there are plot devices that seem a little
contrived to ensure that our narrator can be present at some of the
most important events in Roman history, this can be excused in the
interest of a great storyline.
Unfortunately the afterword tells us nothing of what is based on known history and what is speculation and Robert Harris despite acknowledging his reliance on more recent scholarship he fails to direct the reader to more works that might allow those whose interest has been pricked in the history, to learn more. This is a shame because Imperium is an excellent read and could well put many on the path to a deeper study of Roman history.
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1 comment:
I thought this was in many ways an allegorical novel about Tony Blair - a lawyer who enters politics for sound reasons, but who has to make so many accommodations in order to gain power that by the time he gains it he no longer remembers why he wanted it.
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