I, Claudius

Despised for his weakness and regarded by his family as little more than a stammering fool, the nobleman Claudius quietly survives the intrigues, bloody purges and mounting cruelty of the imperial Roman dynasties. In "I, Claudius", he watches from the sidelines to record the reigns of its emperors: from the wise Augustus and his villainous wife Livia to the sadistic Tiberius and the insane excesses of Caligula. Written in the form of Claudius' autobiography, this is the first part of Robert Graves' brilliant account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome, and stands as one of the most celebrated, gripping historical novels ever written.

ISBN 0141188596   Pages 416 ISBN13 9780141188591 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 304 Publisher Penguin Books Ltd   Published in London Imprint Penguin Classics   Series title Penguin Classics S. Format Paperback   Previous ISBN 9780140003185 Publication date 03 Aug 2006   Height (mm) 198 Writer of introduction Barry Unsworth   Width (mm) 129 DEWEY 823.912   Spine width (mm) 23 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level General

I, CLAUDIUS and CLAUDIUS THE GOD are an imaginative and hugely readable account of the early decades of the Roman Empire ... racy, inventive, often comic Daily Telegraph One of the really remarkable books of our day, a novel of learning and imagination, fortunately conceived and brilliantly executed New York Times Still an acknowledged masterpiece and a model for historical fiction ... sympathetic and intensely involving: a great feat of imagination -- Hilary Mantel

I, Claudius and Claudius the God give us a wonderfully atmospheric insight into the world of ancient Roman nobility. Graves brought to life centuries old intrigue in such convincing detail that it is easy to forget that it is still a work of fiction and not actually written by Clau, Clau, Claudius himself. In my opinion, no other author has ever been able to convey the feeling of this long past world as Graves has and I really don't think that any ever will. - Heather Sneddon



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