I, Claudius : From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 (Vintage International) by Robert Graves Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of I, Claudius : From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 (Vintage International)
Book Review: A Page Turning Plausible History
Summary: 5 Stars
Having just read Everitt's recent bio of Augustus, and being glued to HBO's Rome, I turned to this classic novel to get a better feel for Augustus and his times. The first two thirds of this novel, covering the administrations of Augustus and Tiberius, are dominated by the influence of Livia, an influence that extends into the Caligula era.
In contrast, the Everitt bio downplays Livia saying that she's shrewd businesswoman and loving advisor (if not a much of a sexual partner) to Augustus. With careful words and footnotes, Everitt separates what is known and what isn't. He says there is no proof that Livia is behind poisonings and the like for which she has come to be associated. He handles Julia's banishment as an overreaction by Augustus alone.
Graves, though, gives a ton of circumstantial evidence that points to Livia as not only a poisoner, but also the center of power in both the Augustus and Tiberius administrations. She clearly had the motivation to orchestrate the poisonings and banishments and was the only true beneficiary of the family turmoil. Late in the novel, Graves gives us a telling historical fact, (I had not known this, and checked it out) about her father and his death. This alone sets the stage.
Graves, in describing Germanicus and how he was perceived by Tiberius, gives us a full picture of Tiberius' world view. His cruelty was not a freak of nature. The odds are that a mother without conscience will raise children to be like her, and hence we have Tiberius. We also watch the young Caligula, also a product of his grandmother's counsel, grow up from burning down his uncle's house to larger and more perverse crimes.
Graves is brilliant in chosing Claudius, the stammering historian, to be his voice. He breathes life into the history here. While Everitt can find no evidence to support this rendering, there is none to refute its basic theory. Graves gives what appears to be a plausible decription of how the republic devolved into an amoral empire.
Book Review: Best book I've read all year!
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved everything about this book. I had seen the TV series by the same title, but had never read the book (or its sequel, CLAUDIUS THE GOD AND HIS WIFE MESSALINA) upon which it was based. WONDERFUL READ! If you love Roman history you will love this book. It is witty, informative, full of action and intrique, and loaded with colorful depictions of life in the Roman world. The culture, mores, politics, machinations, conquests and murders are well-described without gratuitious violence or graphic sex. Graves was an historian, poet, novelist and KNEW HIS STUFF. Well worth the effort. When you've finished this book you will want to read the sequel so you might as well buy them at the same time and get free shipping!Book Review: A Palatable History Text
Summary: 5 Stars
Robert Graves sets about, in the voice of Claudius himself, to tell the tale of how a stammering idiot rose to the supreme rule of Rome. Written almost entirely in the first person, we're taken step by step through every fine detail of Claudius' memories of childhood, love and marriage, victory and defeat. His friends and foes all come alive to share with us their stories while they come along for the journey of a lifetime.
Though this novel is a work of fiction, Robert Graves stays true to fact and follows a tight line along the true events. Like a painter he takes the black and white words of history and brilliantly colours them in so that anyone can enjoy reading this novel: the value of which is found, not only as a lens into ancient Rome after the republic collapsed into the rule of emperors, but also in the enjoyment of reading a well told story.
Graves' primary source for his novel is the work of "Suetonius: The Lives of the Twelve Caesars." Suetonius wrote a great deal on the Caesars from Julius to Domitian, which of course includes the four mentioned in "I, Claudius;" Julius; Tiberious, the son of Livia; Caligula; and Claudius, our stammering protagonist.
Graves was born in 1885 in London and lived 100 years. Besides "I Claudius" Graves is also known for his poetry; particularly his war poetry. Being of both German and English descent , Graves wrote from a rather neutral perspective regarding the great wars. He fought with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers at the battle of the Somme until he was wounded; after which The London Times, mistakenly published his obituary. Long after all of this, in 1934, "I, Claudius" was published. Graves wrote a sequel to the novel as well; called "Claudius the God."
"I, Claudius" introduced a more palatable aspect to historical studies, and has been so successful that it has been adapted into a BBC mini series and was to be made into a film, which despite having never come to fruition is a testament to how dynamic and true to life the novel is. This palatable aspect of `historical writing' offers readers a chance for a more relevant view of Roman life. Not unlike a play which, though written down, was always intended to unfold before an audience. The book is well worth reading, and well worth buying. I procured my copy for 50 cents at the public library book sale, but it's worth buying new and is a staple to any reference collection of the early Roman Empire.
Book Review: A Masterpiece in Historical Fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is the first half of the two-part series, talking about Claudius's life. It's written as if Claudius is writing this himself, an autobiography. This is the best thing I've ever read. Robert Graves really captures what kind of man Claudius might have been in this book. Claudius is a very witty, funny old man. The pure wit and humour of this book is enough to catch any good reader's eye. To my knowledge, the book is(Thank God), historically correct so, no worries there. Robert Graves also did a very good job in what a lot of authors suck at: Describing character personality. Claudius, in this book, really seems like this real, solid guy you could see walking down the road later on. The other characters, Livia, Augustus, Germanicus, Caligula and others all have a very good and vivid personality. The book is written in mostly the narrative, with only a bit of conversation. This can be a little odd at times but, I still was entranced by the book. It is very enjoyable to read and really captures what Claudius may have been like in real life.Book Review: "How many twisted stories still remain to be straightened out?"
Summary: 5 Stars
Published in 1934, poet Robert Graves's _I, Claudius_ tells the story of Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, known in Roman history as Claudius--an historian, a crippled stutterer, and widely regarded as an idiot. Claudius is isolated from the treachery of the Roman court during the years immediately after the death of Christ, protected by the fact that no one takes him seriously enough to want to assassinate him. Ultimately, however, Claudius ascends to the throne of the Roman Empire in 41 A.D. and rules brilliantly until he is assassinated in 54 A.D.
Through the first person narrative of Claudius, Graves tells the story from the beginning of the Christian era until Claudius's death fifty years later, recording the horrors visited on the Roman people by his family's rulers. Claudius's grandmother Livia, widow of Caesar Augustus--and one of the most treacherous women in history--manipulates the imperial succession through poisonings, assassinations, marriages, and secret alliances. The reign of her son Tiberius is bloody, murderous, and corrupt. His brother, the good soldier Drusus, is kept in foreign lands until he can be assassinated. Tiberius's succession by Caligula, his grandson and the prot?g? of Livia, takes Rome into even more terrifying debauchery. Claudius's ultimate succession to the throne upon the death of Caligula, his insane nephew, is regarded as a joke by the court--the installation of an idiot who will not challenge the imperialists. Ironically, Claudius is discovered to be a republican.
This first person account, with virtually no scenes of direct action, defies the first rule of novel-writing: to recreate, not "tell about" actions. Here every aspect of Roman history is filtered through the mind of Claudius, who "tells about" all the action as he knows it. Claudius, however, is so perceptive and so full of fascinating information about the characters and their motivations, that the reader creates his/her own action scenes from the information revealed by Claudius. Through Claudius, whom the reader comes to admire, the reader is able to evaluate what is happening in ways that direct-action scenes, with all their superficial excitement, do not allow.
Characters are complex, fully developed humans, instead of cardboard, costumed "ancients," and their machinations, though extremely bloody, show the conflicts that occur when absolute rule and republican sentiments contend for dominance, a conflict in which Graves says he saw parallels to World War I and its aftermath. Giving a new view of Claudius from what had traditionally been accepted, Graves's portrayal is historically accurate (based on then-new information) and psychologically perceptive, a brilliant novel which sets the standard for historical fiction. n Mary Whipple