Cicero The Patriot
A SPLENDID CARTOON showing Disraeli as Cicero berating Gladstone/Catiline adorns the covers and is beautifully complemented by the quote underneath - `I think you ought to know what I have accomplished.' The humour sets the tone. This is an unabashed attempt to make a complicated period of history accessible to teenagers. Williams has set herself an impossible task, but thoroughly enjoys herself, and allows her affection and interest to show.The style is bouncy and modern with a great deal of that cynicism so attractive to teenagers and Williams sustains it throughout. I waited for this to irritate me but found it made me laugh too often. Williams is particularly good at bringing the Cicero family to life, and Atticus and Quintus Junior get interesting treatment. Sometimes one feels that one is being distracted by comparisons with modem politics: the kind of student who will enjoy this book can easily make these comparisons for themselves. --Fiona Forsyth, Manchester Grammer School