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Summary: History at its finest...
Review: I had always been interested in Roman history, especially since I started taking Latin in school (and loved it), but what I knew I had picked up in small pieces and fragments and not bothered to go after the rest. One day I looked up and there was "I, Claudius" sitting on my living room shelf; I picked it up, opened it, and spent the next hour sitting there on the arm of the couch, unable to stop reading. From the opening sentence I was caught, in love with the story of Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus ("...This-that-and-the-other"), the lame stammerer who outlives his entirely too murder-prone family because of the one quality nobody suspects in him: intelligence. From the immediate beginning he's a sympathetic, likeable character, a shy historian who'd much rather be left alone with a good book than get entangled in the labyrinthine politics of the Imperial Family and who hides his intelligence to stay alive. His grandmother, the brilliant, malevolent Livia, has her own ideas for the succession: potential heirs seem to die with startling effectiveness whenever she's around. Through her manipulations, the chain of Emperors succeeding from Augustus is set in motion, and Claudius chronicles them all from his vantage point of political invisibility. Aside from the historical accuracy which Robert Graves puts into his book, I was impressed with the way he wrote it. Having read other books (non-Claudian) written by Graves, I know that he possesses quite a deft and informative writing style. Here he uses Claudius' own style-a bit clumsy, a bit run-on, all the facts there although not always in the proper arrangement-and it's the finishing touch on a wonderful feat of literary impersonation. You can almost believe that you're reading (in translation, of course) the manuscript written by Claudius himself and buried, on the orders of the Sibyl of Cumae, so that it will be found and read by generations nineteen hundred years from his time. It's a remarkable book on all counts: historical, literary, and greatly enjoyable. The characters are all clearly and definitively drawn-and Claudius supplies us with the little bits of irrelevant trivia that help round out a person's character-and the setting, though the action takes place almost entirely in the upper tiers of Roman society, is as detailed and believable. For those of you who scorn history as dry and boring: Read "I, Claudius" and its sequel, "Claudius the God." It may still be dry, but boring it is definitely not. Enjoy!
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Summary: A Must-Read for Fans of the Emperor Claudius
Review: I read this book almost six months ago, and I still can't get over it! Robert Graves captures the behind-the-scenes look at the Imperial Family wonderfully. After reading this book, Claudius immediately became my favorite Roman. While Mr. Graves must have taken a little bit of license with this work, I think he portrays Claudius well. The best summation of this book is something someone said to a friend of mine while he was reading this book in the London underground: "Livia's a bleep, isn't she?"
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Summary: Ancient Roman history at it's very best! Fascinating!!!!
Review: What a majestic find after 1900 years. It was predicted to Claudius that something of value that he wrote would be hidden and then found 1900 years later. What has been found is the fascinating history of a family who's end was to rule the Roman Empire. Robert Graves has done a wonderful job of putting this manuscript together. He does it in a way that has the reader re-living history "up close and personal." I can't get enough of it.
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Summary: great for any beginning historian
Review: I am a 17 year old female student and am just now realizing my great, expanding interest in classical history. This is the perfect start for anyone. Whether or not the accounts in this and his second book, Claudius the God, which I have also read, are completely accurate is yet to be known for myself, since im aspiring to read books by Tacitus, Suetonius and others, (and I can't wait to read Cleopatra's memoirs), but this was a blood curling epic of classic roman history, a book one is sure to be engrossed in from start to finish. And, there is no getting out of reading Claudius the God, they go together and must both be read. If anyone wouldnt mind, I'd love to be emailed with some more suggestions on good, accurate, historical books and authors of this period.
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Summary: I Claudius
Review: As other reviewers have pointed out, this book is an historical novel - not a biography. Although he draws heavily on Tacitus and Suetonius, among others, Graves is happy to invent, disgard and change facts to suit his purpose. Whether you see this as a strength or weakness will depend on your point of view. For me, the book is compulsive reading. I have lost track of the number of times I have read it and its sequel: Claudius the God. At the centre of the novel is the delicious irony that Claudius survives because of the quality he is deemed to lack - intelligence. Even the perceptive and wickedly intelligent Livia overlooks and underrates him. On another level, the plot, which concerns the way a man spectacularly unfit for office becomes the head of state of the most powerful country on Earth, should be particularly interesting to American readers.
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Summary: Bloodygoodstuff
Review: Ahhhh, this is what ancient history is all about!! Life in the early roman empire is portrayed skilfully and with panache. Really good stuff. Though Caligula gives me the willies.
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Summary: A great insight to Roman society and politics.
Review: I'm barely twelve and I read the book.I thoroughly enjoyed this book.It gave me great insight to Ancient Rome and I'm compelled to read the second part.Though I have yet to see the complete mini seiries,I feel the book is still better.I had a miniscule amunt of remebering all the names because it's a gargantuan amount,I can still recall much.Read it if you want a good book.
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Summary: This book is a true classic....
Review: "I, Claudius" is an interesting, and entertaining book providing background information of the beginnings of the imperial Caesars. The book tells of the dissolving of republicanism and the accommodation of absolutism through the eyes of a future emperor deemed feeble minded. *"I, Claudius" is for casual reading, and should not be used as an accurate depiction of the beginnings of the true Roman Empire and its first fathers.
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Summary: A Classic In Its Own Right
Review: Without a doubt I, Claudius stands as one of the greatest achievements in 20th century historical fiction. The narrative is engaging, the authority and credibility of the narrator enchanting, the epic scope of the tale and its subtle imagery magnificent. No other work of fiction portrays the scope and majesty of Imperial Rome so well and so believably, (except, perhaps, Tacitus' Annals! :). NOR IS THE NOVEL AS INACCURATE AS ONE MIGHT THINK. Despite the rather brash and verbose writings of an earlier reviewer, the book was painstakingly researched: Josephus, Cassius Dio, Pliny I & II and the actual speeches of the emperor form the backbone of the novel, even more so than Tacitus and Suetonius, whose very errors inspired the author to write what he considered "the truth". Much of the scandal of the novel is grounded in historical plausibility, and for what the book alledgedly lacks in precision, it makes up for the authentic feeling it exerts. Even the style of prose is copied from the letters of Claudius, providing an unbelievably authentic and engaging reading experience.IN ADDITION, IT WAS THIS BOOK MORE THAN ANY OTHER THAT INSPIRED A REVOLUTIONARY NEW ANALYSIS OF THE JULIO/CLAUDIAN DYNASTY. Before Graves, Claudius was considered an inept fool. Today, even the most objective and acclaimed historians admit the validity to the idea of a succesful Claudian regime. What more can I say? I have but one caution: this book may inspire you to quit any previous pursuits and major in the classics!
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Summary: Excellent and engaging book.
Review: I have a minor in Classical Studies and I found this book to be a fun read--it was interesting and had a great amount of information that I had learned through readings of Roman writers. I just read a review from another reader who stated that what Robert Graves wrote was not "authentic" and that it was "propaganda". However, this book was fiction, based on history; I don't think Robert Graves was trying to teach anything. Besides I feel that if I did not have that Classical Studies minor, I would not have completely understand some of the intrigues Mr. Graves wrote about. It is true that there are other accounts that are more accurate, but these writings were meant to educate. Mr. Graves book was written simply for entertainment and I believe, to show his interest in the topic of Ancient History. He also wrote Herod the God and other ancient-history based books. I have just ordered the video series from Columbia House video although I've seen it a few times already. I would also recommend the series. (It's about 14 hours long, though.) Not only do I recommend Robert Graves book, I Claudius, but his other writings as well.
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