I Read Books: Lustrum

Lustrum, the second volume in Robert Harris’ fictional version of the career of Cicero. (First volume review here.) A lustrum is a period of five years; the time between censors being appointed to count who is in what class/tribe/century and also the five yearly celebration where you should clean and refresh your household.

The action takes place over five years (duh). At the end of the previous volume, Cicero had cut just enough deals to be elected one of the two consuls for the year, the senior office of the Roman Republic. Almost immediately he finds that there are plots afoot; the great general Pompey, the richest man in the world Crassus, and upcoming politician Julius Caesar have a plan to establish a land commission to give away publicly held land, the details of which would make the commissioners the most powerful people in the state. Perhaps more urgently Catalina, Cicero’s rival for the consulship, is near bankruptcy and desperate – and he’s not the only one. Thousands of poor and ruined men are gathering and threatening to arm themselves.

Cicero plots back, creating shifting alliances, eventually uncovering Catalina’s plans in the most dramatic fashion. At the end of his consulship he is widely acclaimed and named Pater Patria, Father of His Country for his efforts.

Things go downhill from there, Caesar’s unstoppable rise eclipsing him.

Read This: For a deep dive into the politics of the Roman Republic, though never in an uninteresting manner.
Don’t Read This: If the details of Roman history are of no interest.