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I, Claudius (Claudius #1)

4.26 of 5 stars 4.26 · rating details · 20,581 ratings · 935 reviews

From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54:
Considered an idiot because of his physical infirmities, Claudius survived the intrigues and poisonings of the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and the Mad Caligula to become emperor in 41 A.D. Historical novel set in 1st-century-AD Rome by Robert Graves, published in 1934. The book is wri...more

Paperback, 468 pages

Published October 23rd 1989 by Vintage (first published 1934)

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Feb 07, 2012 Paul rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: modern-classic, novels

I Claudius reviewed by Manny :

- Claudius, come here, sit down right by me, don't be shy.

- O o o o o oh, M-m-m-m-m-

- Yes?

- essalina!

I Claudius reviewed by Mariel :

All i can dream about is rabbits every day. every day rabbits. i can't tell you why.

I Claudius reviewed by Ian Graye :

You've seen The Sopranos, so you think you know about gangsters.

But Imperial Rome didn't get its reputation by organising knitting circles.

No, it didn't.

Claudius became emperor accidentally. They found him cowering in a...more

42 likes · like · see review

May 25, 2013 Aubrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: on-hand, 4-star, reviewed

There have been multiple periods of time in my life during which I developed a fascination for different historical families, usually of infamous repute. Elementary school was devoted to the Tudors, focusing heavily on the Princess Elizabeth, while middle through high school was preoccupied with the Borgias, an interest more balanced between its equally intriguing members. Every so often those fascinations will spark up again, and I will find myself consuming relevant impressively rendered ficti ...more There have been multiple periods of time in my life during which I developed a fascination for different historical families, usually of infamous repute. Elementary school was devoted to the Tudors, focusing heavily on the Princess Elizabeth, while middle through high school was preoccupied with the Borgias, an interest more balanced between its equally intriguing members. Every so often those fascinations will spark up again, and I will find myself consuming relevant impressively rendered fiction and biographically accurate nonfiction with equal fervor. I would not be able to tell you why these subjects had attracted me while I was young, but I do have a hypothesis as to why they continue to interest me today.

Both the Tudors and the Borgias were at the center of major confluences in their day, and both rested in the eyes of storms largely fueled by religion. While the Borgias clawed their way to the top of the papal throne amidst vicious rumors of debauched blasphemy, the Tudors with Henry VIII as their figurehead rejected that system of belief completely in favor of one that would serve their own ends. And it is this intersection of human figures in places of immense power with religious forces, and what results, that makes for truly spellbinding tales, fictional or no.

I, Claudius is an example of this theological maelstrom, but is even more striking when taken into consideration that the Emperors of Rome could be deified, whether by popular plea by the public or by the crazed hysterics of the ruler himself. Not a king in consultation with powerful people both religious and otherwise, nor a pope equipped with papal infallibility in the spiritual sense. A god.

The effect that this mentality must have had on its believers is not fully explored, as Claudius is not one for psychological profiles or sociocultural analysis. His two interests throughout the story are largely restricted to the realms of historical recountal and simple survival, as his family discredits, banishes, poisons, and pushes to suicide any member they deem in their way. I do not blame him in the slightest, but I cannot help but wish that there was more to the story than the bare facts and occasional personal inputs that Claudius limited himself to. Or I suppose the matter would have fallen to Graves, seeing as this for all its evidence of substantial research is a work of fiction.

For the potential of deification works its way into the heart of every major player, beginning with Augustus' boasts of his relations to the deified Julius Caeser, and ending with Caligula's assumption of the role of any god or goddess, a decision dictated only by his increasingly errant and murderous behavior. Of special note is Livia Drusilla, the wife of Augustus, who of all the characters proved to be the most controversially engaging. Her first manipulation on a grand scale removes her from her first husband and places her at the side of Augustus, then Octavian, an enemy of her family that drove her father to suicide. From thereon out she is strongly present in the ruling of the Roman Empire, a time when women were banned from the senate and widowed mothers were placed under the guardianship of their own sons. She goes to any lengths without any seeming sentiment in order to ensure the health of the Empire, a health that she believes can be maintained only by her line. When considering her considerable prowess in ruling through Augustus, this was not a bad assumption to make at all. (view spoiler)

In fact, I would have preferred reading the story from her point of view, if it were not for that fact Claudius survived her and lived to see the tumultuous reigns of her son Tiberius and her grandson Caligula. It is through his eyes that one is able to see that, while Livia was a masterful player at the game of all-powerful leadership, she did not give much thought to the psychological damage she was wreaking on those she expected to continue her rule, or how they would manage to cope without her complete control of the realm. If she had, it is hard to say how the history of Western Roman Empire would have evolved. My bets are on that it would not have ended with Nero, and maybe would even have continued for far longer than it ended up doing.

That is pure conjecture, though. What is not is that the book ends with Claudius becoming Emperor, whose story is continued in Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina. Based on the brief insights into his character that he chose to insert into his historical account, within the academically inclined soul of his there lies some small worms of grandeur, lofty views of himself that so far his career of pandering and pretending have not substantiated. It will be interesting to see whether these worms grow any, and how they express themselves when his hands grasp the reins of the Empire and they are let loose on a much wider field of play. He is the newest member of this train of deified royalty, and how he chooses to handles this powerful mantle remains to be seen.(less)

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Feb 26, 2012 Elijah Kinch Spector rated it 5 of 5 stars

[Cross-posted on my blog, but with pretty pictures!]
I decided that I had to read I, Claudius as soon as possible because of Brian Blessed.

I was watching a documentary about the famous BBC miniseries based on the book (which I desperately want to watch) and saw Mr. Blessed -- one of my favorite people to ever exist, who should really be a "Sir Blessed" -- discuss his reaction to being offered the role of Augustus: he basically (I am paraphrasing) went "oh no, I can't see myself as Augustus... ma...more

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Mar 19, 2011 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This stuttering, doddering, somewhat foolish Roman monarch, whose reign was nestled between that of the brutally murdered madman Caligula and the suicide-selecting megalomaniac Nero, owes much of the public's actual awareness of his rule to Graves' inspired fictional memoirs. Growing up either ignored or despised in the sprawling court of Augustus Caesar, Claudius is re-imagined as a scholastic boy with a sharp mind who suffered a dearth of confidence and lacked for any opportunity that would al...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Riku Sayuj rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Yo, Claudio

The review I really have in mind will be attempted for this book only after I finish reading Claudius the God (to quench the burning curiosity of how this ‘Clau-Clau-Claudius’, a man, who in the first shock of being made emperor had this outrageous thought come rushing to his mind - "So, I'm Emperor, am I? What nonsense! But at least I'll be able to make people read my books now.”, will conduct himself as a God-Emperor), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and Rubicon: The Last Y ...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those interested in the real Hunger Games

Shelves: favorite-books, roma-spqr, historical-fiction

Poor Clau-Clau-Claudius. He stuttered, had a limp, and was deaf in one ear. Considered the family idiot, he had the misfortune to be born into a family that suffered from a congenital lack of compassion.

Robert Graves’s choice of the hapless Claudius as the narrator for this work of historical fiction was ingenious. Seen as dull-witted and harmless by his ruthless relatives, Claudius managed to avoid (view spoiler) the poisoning, banishment, starvation, stabbing, and suici...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Kemper rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, 100, classic-lit

Things had to have been boring in ancient Rome with no TV, internet or video games. But after reading I, Claudius, I think that the average Roman citizen’s chief entertainment probably came from watching what the imperial family did to each other. There was the crime and intrigue of a show like The Sopranos. All the narcissism and betrayal of a season of a reality TV show. More sex than cable on-demand porn channels and enough family dysfunction to make Jerry Springer’s guests look classy. You...more

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Dec 27, 2012 TD rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, re-read

As we're to spend a couple of nights in Rome over New Year's Eve, I thought I'd get in the mood by picking up again - having read it ten to fifteen years ago - Robert Graves's account of the reign of Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. I remember liking it enough then to have sought out and read the sequel, "Claudius the God" - unfortunately my fondness for this novel hasn't accrued with intervening years. Not that there is anything particularly terrible about the book; it's historical subject matt...more

As we're to spend a couple of nights in Rome over New Year's Eve, I thought I'd get in the mood by picking up again - having read it ten to fifteen years ago - Robert Graves's account of the reign of Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. I remember liking it enough then to have sought out and read the sequel, "Claudius the God" - unfortunately my fondness for this novel hasn't accrued with intervening years. Not that there is anything particularly terrible about the book; it's historical subject matter is bloody and suggestively perverse enough to maintain almost anyone's interest, and the tid-bits of detail Graves indulges in are bait even for those readers lacking appetite for all things Roman. If that fails, the obvious parallels that can be drawn to regimes extant at the time of publication (1934) may add spice to the paranoid political landscape rendered, and any biographical knowledge concerning the author the reader cares to bring to the book will paste another layer of interest. But for all that, in its capacity as novel, I found it oddly flat - bland, almost.

"I, Claudius" is structured around the conceit that what we're reading is the first-person, written account of how its author, Clau-Clau-Claudius (he stammers, and has a club-foot), came to be Emperor of Rome, following the failure of the Republic and ascension of Augustus to the head of an imperial monarchy, and the increasing folly and debauchery of the two succeeding emperors. It's a catchy idea, particularly given that Claudius was actually a historian; Graves interjects several scenes in which characters discuss the subject of History itself, the most complete being an argument quite early on in the book between Livy and Pollio:

"Livy said: 'The trouble with Pollio is that when he writes history he feels obliged to suppress all his finer, more poetical feelings, and makes his characters behave with conscientious dullness..." (104)

Claudius sides with Pollio's more "stoic way of looking at things" (290), and for a moment I thought Graves may have been treating us to a sly piece of irony. But no, Graves remains true to his narrator's "homely style"(281) - this is a novel of events and personages narrated plainly, and one of the chief enjoyments of the book - and perhaps Graves's achievement in writing it - is the sensation the reader can take of being 'inside' history itself. What shows through, however, is that this was a self-gratification that the author was granting himself also, for the voice of Claudius is plainly that of Graves; when he has his narrator side with Pollio it is because Graves seems to have decided that he does too. Thus no matter the interest of the historical and well-researched details, and no matter the escalation of executions, paranoia and sexual dissolution with which the reigns of the three Emperors depicted are brushed, we're maintained at a seemly distance by a narrator at once implicated in the story, but living at a remove because of a disability which results in him being misprized by the Roman aristocracy. This allows Graves to avoid complicating matters and concentrate on reporting events; right from the outset we're informed that the Claudian family can be divided into good and bad apples (19), and Graves doesn't upset the cart by investing his characters with any further depth: Augustus is well-intentioned but obtuse, Livia a witch, Tiberius paranoid and yellow, Germanicus a virtuous paladin, Caligula maniacal, etc. True, there are glimmers: Germanicus makes an uncharacteristic forgery for the greater good, Livia recounts how her poisonings were committed with Empire at heart, but for a 400 page novel there is a glaring paucity of depth, and ultimately it is an empoverished conception of individual lives flattened into historical players which is being presented, and in which Graves appears to take refuge. Claudius, as he is our narrator, jumps most from the page; his stroppiness and self-indulgence comes across as slightly icky given his cool historian's voice, as though his professional fidelity to truth is at odds with a natural tendency to prate. But as stated previously, it feels as though Claudius is simply and obviously a narrative crutch for Graves to play out his interest in researching the Roman Empire. And this reader wanted more than embellished fact.

(less)

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Feb 20, 2007 Luke Peterson rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: favorites

Best book I'd read in years. I, Claudius is a brilliantly written piece of historical fiction from the perspective of a hapless-yet-intelligent black sheep of the Julio-Claudian house during the Augustan era of the Roman Empire who stumbles his way through to survive the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula only to be made emperor himself.

At times hilarious, others disturbing, very interesting all the way through, Robert Graves wrote a masterpiece with this. I challenge anyone to read 'I,...more

17 likes · like · see review

Mar 10, 2012 Andy Dowling rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This thing is basically 'The Wire' in togas. It has much of the complex plotting, political positioning, warring and double crossing of that show, with a bit of incest and poisoning thrown in for good measure. A lot of poisoning actually. If the amount of poisoning in this book is at all historically accurate, then the Romans must have experienced the same abject terror sitting down to every meal, which we in modern life are thankfully now only exposed to when faced with no option but to use a K...more

5 likes · like · see review

Oct 06, 2011 Kurt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, classics, fiction, historical-fiction, history

Wow! What an amazing book. Emperor Claudius tells the story of his own unlikely rise to Roman emperor, succeeding the evil and insane Caligula (who succeeded Tiberius who succeeded Augustus). Of course, Claudius didn't really write this book, but the author convincingly fools readers into imagining otherwise.

This was the first book about the Roman empire that I have ever read. It is exactly the kind of historical fiction that I enjoy and appreciate -- one in which every character is a real histo...more

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Jun 03, 2011 Two Bibliomaniacs rated it 3 of 5 stars

I, Claudius is a fictitious autobiographical account of the life of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Pretty cool name, huh?). The novel begins with the fateful stabbing of Julius Caesar and culminates with Claudius’s rise to power as Emperor of Rome. Everything inbetween is an eye opening account of first century politics and the consequences of unchallenged imperial power.

In our opinion, Robert Graves created a wonderfully unique voice in Claudius. The main character is the poster...more

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Mar 31, 2008 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature, read2008, historical-fiction

I read this over the course of three weeks and blogged about it along with several other writers. (The Big Read II) That kind of slow, reflective read is perfect for this book. There are many historical characters to keep track of, and just who is going to be poisoned by whom.

Julius Caesar is merely the backstory, the real story here is about a sickly cripple that manages not to get assassinated before he becomes the Emperor at the ripe old age of 50 something. (That is not a spoiler...we learn...more

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Jan 28, 2008 Rustom Davar rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you think your family is bad, wait till you see what Emperor "Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other" had to put up with! This historical novel is written from the point of view of Claudius, a stammering, lame, benign man who is taken for a fool by everyone who knows him (which happens to works in his favour). Claudius starts his tale with the reign of Augustus and ends the book with his own ascension to power. There is a sequel to the book called "The God Claudius"...more

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Jun 05, 2007 Siria rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century, british-fiction, historical-fiction

Hmm. I'm not entirely sure if I liked this, or if I didn't. I mean, on the one hand, the prose style read plausibly as a translation from the classical Latin, much of the research was accurate, and I really liked Graves' take on Claudius himself. On the other hand, I thought his Augustus was incredibly off - whatever else the man was, he was incredibly intelligent, and I think Graves really underestimated him - and I would have quibbles with some of the rest of the characterisation as well.

Some...more

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Nov 27, 2007 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction

I read this book because my co-worker said it was like watching The Sopranos; it's all about the family, there's murder, conspiracy, adultery... I'll admit, with the amount of young adult novels I read, the text was a little slow going at first. It reminded me of One Hundred Years of Solitudein that there's a lot of establishment of family characters. Once I got the hang of the family tree, it was a fascinating read. Although fictional, it is based on Roman history. Having recently traveled to G...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars

3-1/2 stars, if I could.
Finished! I'm glad I'm raising kids in Bountiful and not 1st C. Rome.
A funny result of reading this book: it has inspired me to get back into gathering my parent's histories.
Read The Family: a Proclamation to the World regarding women and families and then p. 94, "... as a rule any good looking woman nowadays could have any man to sleep with whom she chose." If she "tired" of her husband, it was a hastle and financially distressing to get rid of him. Being married just me...more

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Mar 22, 2011 Rusty rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic

I just could not get into the I, Claudius mini series but the book took me back to a Rome so unpredictable and strange that I doubt if I could have survived. Claudius survives bloody Rome and its mad, vindictive leaders by hiding beneath his limp, stammer and the image his family and acquaintances have cast upon him. The butt of jokes everywhere, he buries himself in nonpolitical historical research and writes books about what he discovers while his friends and family members are murdered and/or...more

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Mar 13, 2008 Belinda rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those who wish a deeper understanding of roman history

Recommended to Belinda by: Badger

I cannot recommend this book too highly. My introduction to it was the famous BBC series staring Derek Jacobi, after which I was compelled to read Graves' books to fill in all the juicy details. Graves felt there was a new Roman story to be told w/Claudius, the "idiot" who managed to do much more than most of his foolish relations---until he too demonstrated himself a fool. This telling of Roman history is deliciously wicked, as are most of its characters, but then you somehow find yourself in l...more

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Jan 21, 2008 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Easily my favorite historical novel. Graves creates a sympathetic character in Claudius, remembered by Roman historians as a physically and developmentally disabled emperor, but now recognized as an able leader who overcame many obstacles and setbacks in his reign.

Graves claimed that the ghost of Claudius appeared to him and demanded that his story be set straight. This book (and a sequel I haven't read, Claudius the God) gives a cynical, unflattering, but realistic portrait of the first emperor...more

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Jul 04, 2007 jillian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historicalfiction, history

I, Claudius is one of my favoritest books of all time. Since I just finished watching Rome: Season 1 on DVD, I figured I'd re-read the book that picks up where it left off. Now, I have the tail end of Season 2 to help me visualize Graves first few chapters - although there's definitely some conflicts between his work and the HBO series. I haven't re-read this book in forever, not since leaving my own copy in a West Texas motel room in 1999, so I pounced on the copy in my local library. I may hav...more

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Mar 13, 2009 Pierce rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very enjoyable. It was difficult not to read this as fact, it reminded me so much of the histories I read in Classical Studies. Plus 'Claudius' writes in such unemotional manner about his own family (real historical figures) that it feels more like an honest account than a half-fiction. Reading up later I found Graves was pretty selective with his sources, as one might be when trying to construct an exciting and believable narrative. The result is a page-turner.

Saying that, I don't think it's fo...more

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Jun 07, 2013 Kevin Lynch rated it 4 of 5 stars

When "I Claudius" was first shown on TV in the 70's I was just too young to stay up and watch it. However I ended up studying Greek and Latin but never read the book until now.
I'm a big fan of the book and the repeated TV show. My understanding of th period has been filled out with
Mothers, Murderers and Mistresses: Empresses of Ancient Rome
and In Our Time:The Augustan Age but in truth I'm limbering up for the Hilary Mantel Thomas Cromwell Trilogy
Wolf Hall,
Bring Up the Bodies
The Mirror and the ...more

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Jun 02, 2013 R.a. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Despite the “glory of Rome,” I always feel in need of a shower whenever I read about the ancient republic / empire. All the plotting, murder, abuse of power, sexual depravities, etc.

Graves’ I, Claudius provides a speculative view of the empire through the eyes of Claudius.

This, the first of two novels, follows Claudius’ precarious position within the royal family as he desperately tries to learn of his own lineage, wrongs against his family members, and ways to survive the constantly changing “s...more

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May 27, 2013 M.J. rated it 3 of 5 stars

“I, Claudius” by Robert Graves is the story—as told by the titular character—of the man who would become known to the world as the Roman Emperor Claudius: Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus. Struck with cerebral palsy, his stammer and lame legs lead those around him to believe he is simple and slow-witted rather than the intelligent historian he is. While his immediate and extended family die at a disturbing rate, Claudius manages to survive the police-state of the morose, self-hating Emp...more

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May 17, 2013 ***Dave Hill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: text

Most people know this book from the excellent 1976 BBC/PBS/"Masterpiece Theater" mini-series starring Derek Jacobi in the title role as the crippled, stuttering, disregarded Roman noble who would survive to become Emperor, not despite his disadvantages, but because of them.

The book itself -- which passed to its sequel at the time when Claudius finds himself chosen Emperor -- is something of an odd beast, more of a personal history / diary / historical narrative than what we would think of as a...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Al rated it 4 of 5 stars

...more

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Mar 08, 2013 The Artist Formerly Known as Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

As far as historical fiction, especially regarding the Roman empire, goes, this is the creme de le creme. Robert Graves renders the era with a sense of realism and humanity that is often lacking in other works set in this period of history. The power-struggles, eccentricities and flaws of the first Roman emperors is laid bare here, warts and all.
This work is not without flaw, it is only human. To some readers, especially those less historically inclined, or those less curious/knowledgeable abo...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Iceman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Embora seja um leitor compulsivo de romances históricos, até à data não havia lido nenhum que tivesse como "cenário" o império romano e, o pouco que sei desse Grande Império é devido a programas de História que vão passando nos nossos canais por cabo. Assim e a conselho duma ilustre livriana, lancei-me na aventura de ler "Eu, Cláudio", livro escrito em 1941 por Robert Graves.
"Eu, Cláudio" relata 82 anos da História do Império Romano (41 a.c. a 41 d.c.). Toda a narrativa é nos contada na primeira...more Embora seja um leitor compulsivo de romances históricos, até à data não havia lido nenhum que tivesse como "cenário" o império romano e, o pouco que sei desse Grande Império é devido a programas de História que vão passando nos nossos canais por cabo. Assim e a conselho duma ilustre livriana, lancei-me na aventura de ler "Eu, Cláudio", livro escrito em 1941 por Robert Graves.
"Eu, Cláudio" relata 82 anos da História do Império Romano (41 a.c. a 41 d.c.). Toda a narrativa é nos contada na primeira pessoa por Tibério Cláudio Druso Nero Germânico, filho de Germânico e Antónia, neto de Lívia e por afinidade do imperador Augusto, sobrinho do imperador Tibério e tio de Calígula, outro famoso imperador.
"Cláudio, o gago"; "Cláudio, o idiota"; "Esse Cláudio"; "o pobre tio Cláudio" ou "Cláu, Cláu, Cláudio", é um homem que teve a sorte (já irão perceber porquê) de nascer coxo, gago, surdo de um ouvido e tido por quase todos, desde a sua infância, como sendo um imbecil. Devido a esse facto e embora pertença à família imperial, é colocado de parte e é entregue para que seja educado a Atenodoro que depressa se apercebe na imensa inteligência e perspicácia de Cláudio, dando-lhe então as bases para ele se tornar num minucioso historiador.
E é precisamente nessa perspectiva que Cláudio faz a narração dos acontecimentos que assolaram o império nos anos antes referidos.
Das personagens que vão desfilando, realço especialmente os imperadores Augusto, Tibério e Calígula. Enquanto Augusto se revela um homem com ideias e actos grandiosos, Tibério já se mostra algo fraco, revelando um gosto obsessivo por depravações sexuais. No entanto, o pior de todos e aquele que mais me impressionou é Calígula. Um homem que se julga um Deus. É completamente louco, manda assassinar quem quer e onde quer. Os acontecimentos absurdos e sádicos sucedem-se a um ritmo demente. Lembro-me que chega a nomear o seu cavalo para o cargo de senador, num casamento para o qual havia sido convidado e só por ver o noivo beijar a noiva, decide logo ali casar com ela, o que faz logo no dia seguinte, obrigando o noivo a assistir. Inventa leilões só para ganhar dinheiro, indo ao ponto de levar 20.000 moedas de ouro por uma sandália, não o par, mas uma única sandália. Um período completamente absurdo onde governou pelo terror. Mas a mais marcante talvez seja Lívia, mulher do imperador Augusto, que se revela uma mulher impiedosa, não olhando a meios nem a laços familiares para defender os seus interesses. E é nas descrições desses jogos e conspirações palacianas, que o romance gira, ficando assim com uma ideia clara da política, do interesseirismo que caracterizava o Império Romano.
"Eu, Cláudio" é um livro excepcional que, na minha opinião e embora eu admita não ter conhecimentos sobre a época que me ajudem a avaliar a exactidão Histórica da obra, mas e quanto a mim, peca apenas pelas imensas personagens que nele desfilam, personagens esses que, por vezes, não têm grande relevância na história. Mas é uma obra que nos revela a magnificência desse grandioso império, os jogos de interesse que iam ao ponto de alguém se divorciar só para casar com outro ou o próprio imperador decidir que aquele se divorciaria daquela para ir para outra. Há espaço também para a descrição das guerras com os germânicos, dos espectáculos sangrentos das arenas onde se digladiavam desde escravos, até simples cidadãos; inclusivamente aborda-se, embora de uma forma leve, a vinda do salvador que Calígula julgava ser ele (era da idade de Jesus Cristo).
Um livro apaixonante que se lê com um interesse redobrado, tal o encadeamento de toda a história, ajudando também a escrita fluída e simples que consegue "agarrar" o leitor do princípio ao fim.
Para findar, achei muito interessante a forma hilariante como Cláudio narra certos acontecimentos passados com ele e sobretudo com o louco Calígula. O homem julgava um ser divino e, por causa disso, Cláudio narra factos imensamente hilariantes que me levaram a dar imensa gargalhadas.
E a sorte dele foi mesmo ter nascido cheio de defeitos porque é precisamente por isso e por o terem sempre achado que era um imbecil que consegue passar sempre despercebido, nunca o vêm como um possível inimigo ou adversário, logo, deixam-no sossegado, no seu cantinho, entretido a escrever histórias.
Aconselho!(less)

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Dec 08, 2012 Jason Hare rated it 5 of 5 stars

The BBC adaptation of "I, Claudius" with Derek Jakobi and Patrick Stewart as Sejanus got my hooked on Roman history, Claudius as a man and Robert Graves the author.

After watching the series in the early 90's (BBC first aired in 1976) I bought the book and dived into the mind of Claudius. The book is a first person narrative by Claudius himself. Having survived the rule of Caligula and, before him, Tiberius, Claudius was installed by the Praetorian Guard because he was seen as easily manipulated...more

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About Robert Graves

Robert Ranke Graves, born in Wimbledon, received his early education at King's College School and Copthorne Prep School, Wimbledon & Charterhouse School and won a scholarship to St John's College, Oxford. While at Charterhouse in 1912, he fell in love with G. H. Johnstone, a boy of fourteen ("Dick" in Goodbye to All That) When challenged by the headmaster he defended himself by citing Plato, G...more Robert Ranke Graves, born in Wimbledon, received his early education at King's College School and Copthorne Prep School, Wimbledon & Charterhouse School and won a scholarship to St John's College, Oxford. While at Charterhouse in 1912, he fell in love with G. H. Johnstone, a boy of fourteen ("Dick" in Goodbye to All That) When challenged by the headmaster he defended himself by citing Plato, Greek poets, Michelangelo & Shakespeare, "who had felt as I did".
At the outbreak of WWI, Graves enlisted almost immediately, taking a commission in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He published his first volume of poems, Over the Brazier, in 1916. He developed an early reputation as a war poet and was one of the first to write realistic poems about his experience of front line conflict. In later years he omitted war poems from his collections, on the grounds that they were too obviously "part of the war poetry boom". At the Battle of the Somme he was so badly wounded by a shell-fragment through the lung that he was expected to die, and indeed was officially reported as 'died of wounds'. He gradually recovered. Apart from a brief spell back in France, he spent the rest of the war in England.
One of Graves's closest friends at this time was the poet Siegfried Sassoon, who was also an officer in the RWF. In 1917 Sassoon tried to rebel against the war by making a public anti-war statement. Graves, who feared Sassoon could face a court martial, intervened with the military authorities and persuaded them that he was suffering from shell shock, and to treat him accordingly. Graves also suffered from shell shock, or neurasthenia as it is sometimes called, although he was never hospitalised for it.
Biographers document the story well. It is fictionalised in Pat Barker's novel Regeneration. The intensity of their early relationship is nowhere demonstrated more clearly than in Graves's collection Fairies & Fusiliers (1917), which contains a plethora of poems celebrating their friendship. Through Sassoon, he also became friends with Wilfred Owen, whose talent he recognised. Owen attended Graves's wedding to Nancy Nicholson in 1918, presenting him with, as Graves recalled, "a set of 12 Apostle spoons".
Following his marriage and the end of the war, Graves belatedly took up his place at St John's College, Oxford. He later attempted to make a living by running a small shop, but the business failed. In 1926 he took up a post at Cairo University, accompanied by his wife, their children and the poet Laura Riding. He returned to London briefly, where he split with his wife under highly emotional circumstances before leaving to live with Riding in Deià, Majorca. There they continued to publish letterpress books under the rubric of the Seizin Press, founded and edited the literary journal Epilogue, and wrote two successful academic books together: A Survey of Modernist Poetry (1927) and A Pamphlet Against Anthologies (1928).
In 1927, he published Lawrence and the Arabs, a commercially successful biography of T.E. Lawrence. Good-bye to All That (1929, revised and republished in 1957) proved a success but cost him many of his friends, notably Sassoon. In 1934 he published his most commercially successful work, I, Claudius. Using classical sources he constructed a complexly compelling tale of the life of the Roman emperor Claudius, a tale extended in Claudius the God (1935). Another historical novel by Graves, Count Belisarius (1938), recounts the career of the Byzantine general Belisarius.
During the early 1970s Graves began to suffer from increasingly severe memory loss, and by his eightieth birthday in 1975 he had come to the end of his working life. By 1975 he had published more than 140 works. He survived for ten more years in an increasingly dependent condition until he died from heart failure.(less)

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Books by Robert Graves

Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina (Claudius, #2)

The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth

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Quotes from I, Claudius

“I was thinking, "So, I’m Emperor, am I? What nonsense! But at least I'll be able to make people read my books now.” — 13 people liked it

“And what thoughts or memories, would you guess, were passing through my mind on this extraordinary occasion? Was I thinking of the Sibyl's prophecy, of the omen of the wolf-cub, of Pollio's advice, or of Briseis's dream? Of my grandfather and liberty? Of my grandfather and liberty? Of my three Imperial predecessors, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, their lives and deaths? Of the great danger I was still in from the conspirators, and from the Senate, and from the Gaurds battalions at the Camp? Of Messalina and our unborn child? Of my grandmother Livia and my promise to deify her if I ever became Emperor? Of Postumus and Germanicus? Of Agrippina and Nero? Of Camilla? No, you would never guess what was passing through my mind. But I shall be frank and tell you what it was, though the confession is a shameful one. I was thinking, 'So, I'm Emperor, am I? What nonsense! But at least I'll be able to make people read my books now. Public recitals to large audiences. And good books too, thirty-five years' hard work in them. It wont be unfair. Pollio used to get attentive audiences by giving expensive dinners. He was a very sound historian, and the last of the Romans. My history of Carthage is full of amusing anecdotes. I'm sure that they'll enjoy it.” — 5 people liked it

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