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This isn't just one of my favorite works of historical fiction, but a favorite novel, and it amazes me this was published in 1934 given the frank depictions of themes such as homosexuality, incest, etc. Themes not grafted on for lurid effect but true to the times depicted. After all, this novelized autobiography of Claudius, later Emperor of Rome (a period treated in the sequel, Claudius the God), takes in the reign of the infamous Caligula.
Graves was a noted translator of Classical Latin and A ...more
Graves was a noted translator of Classical Latin and A ...more
After reading this book one might well wonder how the Romans ever managed to establish the greatest Empire the world has ever seen.
I Claudius, written as an autobiography, covers the Emperorships of Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula.
The great Matriarch of the Imperial family, Livia, is portrayed as a ruthless, conniving, power hungry individual willing to poison anyone who stands in her way, including her own children, grandchildren and husband.
Tiberius is a paranoid individual who also ruthlessly ...more
I Claudius, written as an autobiography, covers the Emperorships of Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula.
The great Matriarch of the Imperial family, Livia, is portrayed as a ruthless, conniving, power hungry individual willing to poison anyone who stands in her way, including her own children, grandchildren and husband.
Tiberius is a paranoid individual who also ruthlessly ...more
This book was surprisingly good, despite its dated writing style. Claudius is very interesting as a character because he is on one hand a survivor willing to do whatever it takes and on the other a brilliant guy who's perpetually misunderstood by those around him. Which I think is the appeal of the book. Claudius is interesting himself, but so are the absolutely bonkers people around him at court. I actually loved some of the anecdotes (especially the Livia-Tiberius dynamic). The key question fo
...more
Excellent!
Nov 29, 2009
Angela Randall
marked it as to-read
Jan 28, 2011
Kay
marked it as to-read
May 11, 2011
Bohan Ye
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2011
John Parker
marked it as i-ll-have-try-again
Jun 18, 2011
BB
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Apr 04, 2012
Dian Macnichol
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Mar 10, 2013
Kari
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Nov 17, 2013
Dan
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Jan 23, 2014
beentsy
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Oct 01, 2015
Jodi Graham
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Nov 07, 2016
Elda
marked it as to-read
Mar 29, 2018
Georgio Perpiroglou
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Aug 13, 2019
Dana Ali
marked it as to-read
