I, Claudius

By: Robert Graves

Narrated by: Nelson Runger

Here is one of the best historical novels ever written. Lame, stammering Claudius, once a major embarrassment to the imperial family and now emperor of Rome, writes an eyewitness account of the reign of the first four Caesars: the noble Augustus and his cunning wife, Livia; the reptilian Tiberius; the monstrous Caligula; and finally old Claudius himself and his wife, Messalina. Filled with poisonings, betrayal, and shocking excesses, I Claudius is history that rivals the most exciting contemporary fiction.©1934, 1961 Robert Graves (P)1987 Recorded Books

History really?

I am far from being an historian, and my knowledge of Roman history is at best scanty. And yet I caught a few things that made me jump, which of course makes me wonder about everything else... For one thing Graves keeps referring to "France" and "Italy". These are gross anachronisms. He undoubtedly knew better, and may have found it easier to call these regions of the Empire by their modern day names. But I hate that dumbification of history, even in an historic novel. Another inaccuracy (and this time I do have a bit of knowledge in the matter): he keeps referring to "paper". There is no paper in Europe before the 10th century. The Romans had parchment (animal skin) and papyrus as writing supports. I assume he sloppily calls papyrus "paper". But papyrus is NOT paper. His usage of the the word "book" is a bit questionable too. Claudius didn't write on a what we now consider as a book ie a codex (with pages that are sewn together and can be flipped) but rather on scrolls.
Having said all that, if one can stand the darkness and gore of the time period, which has nothing to do with Graves, it is a good read. I found that considering the sadistic bend of some of his main protagonists, especially Caligula, Graves remained pretty discreet and didn't indulge in easy unsavory imagery, for which I was immensely grateful.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book

I felt like I learned an immense amount about ancient classical figures whose names I had known but couldn't have told you much else about them. In addition, I was entertained, engrossed, and even horrified (by the how violent their world was). I'd recommend it if you like history and/or historical fiction (this isn't fiction, but it reads like it). The reader was very good.

Compelling and Masterful Tale

This is a gripping tale of suspense and intrigue about the lives of the first Roman Emperors. Told from the perspective of the fourth emperor - Claudius - this historical fiction is a spectacular review of Roman history described in contemporary terms.

Every since Robert Graves first published this in 1961, it has been considered one of the best historical fictions. I remember rushing back home every Sunday in the 1980's to watch the BBC/PBS version that was being broadcast. I have a copy of the book and the TV series, but listening to this copy of the book reminded me just how much I enjoyed the story. Mr. Graves was a talented story teller, and from the beginning you are drawn completely into his historical world.

The narration is wonderful, and I highly recommend this as worth anyone's time. And don't forget the second half of the story - Claudius, The God

Read the book

I loved the original book and the television miniseries based on it. I fully expected to love the audiobook. But somehow I've had this for over a year without managing to finish it.

This is really the sort of book to read yourself, either on paper or ebook. It's just too difficult to back up a few pages to refresh yourself on where you left off, and impossible to go back and look up the previous references to a person or event.

Excellent!!

This book is first-rate. Robert Graves did an amazing job. Essentially, it is about the time of Rome from Augustus to Tiberius to Caligula, just after Julius Caesar, like 40 BC to AD 40, approximately. At the end, Claudius becomes the reluctant Emperor when Caligula is assassinated. The last 80 pages or so are about Caligula. This is some of the funniest stuff I've ever read. I was dying with laughter as Mr. Graves wrote about Caligula's nonsense. In many ways, Caligula reminded me of Trump; or, at least, what Trump would have become if he could have become King of America. They say that Comedy is Tragedy plus Time. If you lived during the time of Caligula, you were horrified, of course. Today, though, Caligula's weirdness is hilarious. Maybe in 50 years, people will laugh at Trump's idiocy like we can laugh at Caligula's in this great book. Oh, also I discovered that "I, Claudius" was made into a TV series by the British Broadcasting Service. The great actor Derek Jacobi plays Claudius. I'm going to watch that now. There's like 12-15 episodes. Made in like the mid-70s. Good-luck, Audible People.