Cicero

Cicero: Selected Letters & Speeches​

£140

Illustrated by Neil Bousfield

Rome’s greatest orator, Cicero, offers a vivid insight into the late Republic through his powerful letters and speeches. Curated by classics expert Andrew Sillett, this Folio edition features Neil Bousfield’s evocative illustrations. 

Cicero: Selected Letters & Speeches​

£140
Book Details
 
Presentation Box & BindingBound in three-quarter blocked cloth with a printed paper front board ​​
Blocked slipcase ​​
Printed endpapers ​​
Gilded top ​​edge
Ribbon marker​
Prints 2 colour throughout in red and gold ​
DimensionsSized at 10 inches x 6¾ inches
FontSet in Haarlemmer​
Pages664 pages ​​
AuthorCicero
Illustrated byNeil Bousfield
Illustration7 double-page spread colour illustrations ​​
Publication Date04/03/2025
PrintingFirst Printing
Editor's Notes
 
Rome’s most celebrated orator, Cicero, lived through some of the Republic’s most turbulent years. Through a carefully curated selection by the University of Oxford’s Andrew Sillett, this volume invites readers into the political and intellectual heart of the late Roman Republic, a world shaped by ambition, betrayal and Cicero’s unyielding commitment to republican ideals.​

Cicero’s words have an enduring resonance, and his eloquence and insight resonate as much today as they did two millennia ago, speaking to ideals of justice, duty and integrity. ​

Printed in two colours throughout, bound in cloth and illustrated by award-winning artist Neil Bousfield, this edition is a celebration of one of history’s greatest voices.
Synopsis
 
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.

About the Illustrator

Neil Bousfield

Neil Bousfield is a British artist and printmaker renowned for his innovative wood engravings and relief prints that explore themes of landscape, memory, and place. Raised on the North Yorkshire coast and now based in Norfolk, Bousfield's work often reflects the fragile interplay between land and sea. His meticulous, multi-layered engravings have been featured in Folio Society editions, including Wilfred Owen: Selected Poems and Cicero: Selected Letters and Speeches, where his evocative imagery complements the texts' emotional depth. An elected member of the Society of Wood Engravers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, Bousfield's art is held in major public collections worldwide.

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About the Illustrator

Neil Bousfield

Neil Bousfield is a British artist and printmaker renowned for his innovative wood engravings and relief prints that explore themes of landscape, memory, and place. Raised on the North Yorkshire coast and now based in Norfolk, Bousfield's work often reflects the fragile interplay between land and sea. His meticulous, multi-layered engravings have been featured in Folio Society editions, including Wilfred Owen: Selected Poems and Cicero: Selected Letters and Speeches, where his evocative imagery complements the texts' emotional depth. An elected member of the Society of Wood Engravers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, Bousfield's art is held in major public collections worldwide.

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About the Illustrator

Neil Bousfield

Neil Bousfield is a British artist and printmaker renowned for his innovative wood engravings and relief prints that explore themes of landscape, memory, and place. Raised on the North Yorkshire coast and now based in Norfolk, Bousfield's work often reflects the fragile interplay between land and sea. His meticulous, multi-layered engravings have been featured in Folio Society editions, including Wilfred Owen: Selected Poems and Cicero: Selected Letters and Speeches, where his evocative imagery complements the texts' emotional depth. An elected member of the Society of Wood Engravers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, Bousfield's art is held in major public collections worldwide.

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About the Illustrator

Neil Bousfield

Neil Bousfield is a British artist and printmaker renowned for his innovative wood engravings and relief prints that explore themes of landscape, memory, and place. Raised on the North Yorkshire coast and now based in Norfolk, Bousfield's work often reflects the fragile interplay between land and sea. His meticulous, multi-layered engravings have been featured in Folio Society editions, including Wilfred Owen: Selected Poems and Cicero: Selected Letters and Speeches, where his evocative imagery complements the texts' emotional depth. An elected member of the Society of Wood Engravers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, Bousfield's art is held in major public collections worldwide.

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About the Illustrator

Neil Bousfield

Neil Bousfield is a British artist and printmaker renowned for his innovative wood engravings and relief prints that explore themes of landscape, memory, and place. Raised on the North Yorkshire coast and now based in Norfolk, Bousfield's work often reflects the fragile interplay between land and sea. His meticulous, multi-layered engravings have been featured in Folio Society editions, including Wilfred Owen: Selected Poems and Cicero: Selected Letters and Speeches, where his evocative imagery complements the texts' emotional depth. An elected member of the Society of Wood Engravers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, Bousfield's art is held in major public collections worldwide.

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About the Illustrator

Neil Bousfield

Neil Bousfield is a British artist and printmaker renowned for his innovative wood engravings and relief prints that explore themes of landscape, memory, and place. Raised on the North Yorkshire coast and now based in Norfolk, Bousfield's work often reflects the fragile interplay between land and sea. His meticulous, multi-layered engravings have been featured in Folio Society editions, including Wilfred Owen: Selected Poems and Cicero: Selected Letters and Speeches, where his evocative imagery complements the texts' emotional depth. An elected member of the Society of Wood Engravers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, Bousfield's art is held in major public collections worldwide.

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About the Author

Marcus Tullius Cicero, born in 106 BCE, was one of ancient Rome’s most brilliant orators and a passionate defender of the Republic. Known for his powerful speeches and witty letters, Cicero navigated the turbulent politics of his time with a deep conviction for justice. His works on philosophy, ethics, and rhetoric, including De Officiis (44 BCE) and De Amicitia (44 BCE), shaped Rome's intellectual life and later inspired the Renaissance. In 43 BCE, his resistance to Mark Antony led to his tragic death. However, Cicero’s legacy endured, influencing thinkers like St. Augustine and Voltaire and celebrating reasoned speech.