Rome’s greatest orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, dominated Roman rhetoric at a defining time in the Republic’s history. This unique Folio edition, curated by Andrew Sillett, brings together Cicero’s most powerful speeches and letters, and encapsulates the events surrounding the fall of the Republic. From his defence of Murena and his suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy, to his tragic and vehement opposition to Mark Antony in the Second Philippic, Cicero’s life and achievements stand as a history of a republic on the brink.

Pairing Sillett’s illuminating introductions with Neil Bousfield’s illustrations, this collection spans the political drama of Cicero’s age, his personal and political reflections and his mastery of rhetoric.