Robert Harris turns power into a story: who holds it, who wants it and what someone will risk to keep it. A festival conversation is an inviting prospect for readers who enjoy political thrillers, historical worlds and the tension of people making decisions with consequences far beyond themselves.
Harris writes historical fiction and political thrillers, moving between ancient Rome and more recent political settings. His books include a trilogy about Cicero, whose later volumes are Lustrum and Dictator. That range gives readers several ways into his work, from a single mystery to a longer time spent with one political life.
His novel An Officer and a Spy won the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. A number of his books have also been adapted for cinema and television. The screen and the page can therefore bring different readers to the same conversation, each with their own memory of a scene or a character.
Penguin published Agrippa in 2026, returning his fiction to ancient Rome. For someone who enjoys following an author between periods, a new setting or central figure can be part of the attraction: you recognise the writer while entering a different political world.
You may be drawn by the historical detail, the structure of a thriller or the decisions made under pressure. A live conversation offers time to hear the novelist behind those choices. There is no need to turn your interest into a complete survey of his career; a book that kept you reading late is a strong reason to spend an evening with its author.
Where to start with their books
Fatherland
A Berlin detective investigates a death in an alternative 1964 where Nazi Germany won the war. This is a starting point for readers who enjoy a murder inquiry carrying them into a much larger political conspiracy.
Conclave
Cardinals gather behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel to elect a pope, with ambition and rivalry inside the room. Begin here if you like tension built from competing loyalties and secrets within a confined group.
Imperium
The first Cicero novel follows his rise through Roman politics, told by his secretary Tiro. Choose this if you want to enter the longer political sequence from the beginning and follow the struggle to reach the top.
Festival appearances
For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.
Those visits came in a year when his latest fiction returned to the Roman world. Readers could bring an interest in political authority, historical storytelling or his screen adaptations to the conversation, with the book notes below offering several starting points for the reading around a festival day.
Where to see them next
No 2027 appearances announced yet. Check the festival guides for programme dates.
Plan your trip
Pick the festival that lets you enjoy the whole evening, including the journey home. If you are making a short break of it, give the talk a little breathing space in the itinerary: a conversation about a thriller is more enjoyable when you are not planning to leave its final minutes early.
Going with a companion who knows a film while you know the novel can make the meal afterwards part of the fun. Compare what each form made you notice, and keep one question about the writing in mind before the session begins.
The 2026 programmes featured Robert Harris at Cheltenham Literature Festival; follow those guides for event information and practical visit details.
Do I need to read every Harris novel first?
Choose one book or sequence that interests you. His fiction moves across periods, so the setting that draws you can be your way in. A single novel is enough to bring a reader’s interest to a conversation.
Can I enjoy an event if I know his work through a film?
Use the festival links on Robert Harris’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
Where should I start with the books?
The suggestions below offer an alternative-history detective story, an enclosed election thriller and the opening of a Roman political sequence. Choose the kind of tension you enjoy most, and follow that interest into your festival reading.
How can I arrange a Harris festival trip?
Use the festival links on Robert Harris’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
