Author Robert Harris on his new book 'Agrippa'
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What makes the Roman Empire a hot‑topic for modern readers?
The Claire Byrne Show on News Talk. With Aviva Insurance.
Robert Harris, best selling author who has sold millions of books worldwide. He masterfully turns history into gripping stories that keep us enthralled until the very last page from the ghost to conclave. He's explored power and politics and human dynamics. And his new book is called Agrippa. And I'm delighted to say that Robert is sitting in front of me here in the studio. You're very welcome. Good morning, Claire. Thank you for being with us. Um this is an extraordinary story concerned with the Roman Empire. And I was saying to you when you came in, do you remember last year on social media? Every man was being asked how often do you think about the Roman Empire? Robert Harris.
Every day? Every hour? Well, when I'm writing a book, it seems to have replaced sex as the thing that's most on men's minds, which is very good if you write novels about the Roman Empire. Um I yeah, when I'm writing a book I think about it every day. Otherwise I can't say that I do. But it's definitely uh become a hot button issue. Why
why do you think that is?
Um, because well it's all I mean it is intrinsically very interesting, astonishing, uh, and exciting time. And also I think that uh it speaks to us today, uh, with what's happening in America, with the with the sense that the w you know, the world is turning and the Romans lost their republic and democracy and was replaced by a kind of semi dictatorship. And uh I think people keep looking back to it and wondering if some similar things are happening now in the modern world.
Why does Robert Harris compare today’s politics to ancient Rome?
Well, it's not just politics, is it? I mean it is outsized corporations and countries being run by Men with huge egos.
Yeah, exactly. And vast amounts of money sloshing around. I still s reeling from the revelation that Don Donald Trump has made two point two billion dollars since he started his second term. This is very Roman Emperor stuff. And there's something uh of the Roman Emperor about Donald Trump, um, you know, triumphal archers putting his name on buildings, um and the the uh enrichment and all that sort of stuff. It's he's sort of um throwing his weight around like a a a Roman leader.
Well he was here last weekend and you know, he caused some amount of political turmoil when he suggested that we should have a a united iron. Do you think there's too much attention paid when Donald Trump says things like that, or when the President of the United States makes a a pronouncement that we should listen and we should take it seriously?
Yeah, I know. I think we have to take it seriously, and I think we also have to look beyond Trump. You know, he's eighty and his term is coming to an end, so at some point, you know, he won't be around. But um what comes next and how likely is it that say it's J. D. Vance who who may well pursue similar policies, perhaps even more uh effectively. Uh and that has uh a Roman feel. Um the the whole regime is changing, that the whole system is changing.
Our Prime Minister, our Thishuk, Michal Martin, is meeting Andy Burnham today. And I know you have a lot to say about the Labour Party, but in particular Andy Burnham, you were you were quite irked by by the fact that you say he plays up his working class roots a little too much for your liking. Is that is that fair?
Yeah, I suppose uh yes, I I do it I mean I've nothing against Andy Burnham and at least we've got a Prime Minister who looks like he enjoys the job now and likes meeting people and making speeches, which is quite useful. Um but I I I followed a similar path to him.
Who was Marcus Agrippa and why is he a compelling protagonist?
I I also read English at Cambridge, um and also came I would think I could probably beat him in the proliotan thou stakes. I mean I was bro brought up in a campaign. But it it never struck me that I'd go around making a great point of about this and how awkward he found it and so on. I don't believe it for a second. The guy was in the cabinet uh with incredible speed, he had tremendous contacts. It's sort of uh but this is what Labour politicians th in Britain and I'm sure here also they all have to play up, you know, the their their poverty stricken stricken upbringing.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What makes the Roman Empire a hot‑topic for modern readers?
0:01–1:39
2
Why does Robert Harris compare today’s politics to ancient Rome?
1:39–3:39
3
Who was Marcus Agrippa and why is he a compelling protagonist?
3:39–5:28
4
How does Harris use the mystery of Agrippa’s origins to shape his novel?
5:28–7:32
5
What evidence supports the theory that Agrippa might have been Caesar’s son?
7:32–9:59
6
Why is the friendship between Agrippa and Octavius central to the story?
9:59–11:45
7
How did Agrippa’s engineering feats influence Rome’s architecture?
11:45–13:33
8
What are Harris’s writing habits and upcoming public appearances?
13:33–14:55