Claudius the God

By: Robert Graves

Narrated by: Nelson Runger

Length: 19 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Robert Graves continues Claudius' story with the epic adulteries of Messalina, King Herod Agrippa's betrayal of his old friend, and the final arrival of that bloodthirsty teenager, Nero.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend us your ears: don't miss the first book, I, Claudius.

©1962 Robert Graves (P)1987 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"This book, with or without its predecessor, is amusing and illuminating to a high degree." ( The New York Times)

Claudius, continued

What did you like about this audiobook?

This ties up some loose ends from I, Claudius and adds new anecdotes from the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. (Graves seems to have had more material than he knew what to do with.) It is also a sad story, as the reader realizes that Claudius, now emperor, has some of the same character flaws as his predecessors did -- trusting the wrong people, for one. The last few chapters are heartbreaking; Claudius comes to see that despite all his efforts, his lifelong dream of restoring the Republic is not going to come true, partly because he has ruled so well but mainly because he has outlived all of the real republicans. The original accounts of the death of Claudius at the end are an appropriate conclusion.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

I read the books because of my interest in the subject and they are the ones that I keep coming back to. Claudius the God goes into much more detail of the political, diplomatic and administrative culture of the Roman Empire. It isn't as character-driven as the previous volume. I probably would not have read I Claudius if I had read Claudius the God first but I am glad that I have read them both.

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

The reading is perfect, very smooth and paced in a way that is easy to follow without having to concentrate. He is also good at rendering conversations, by inflection alone it was clear which character was speaking, even when several of them were talking.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

Nothing. I wondered about the pronunciation of some names, but that isn't a big deal.

Do you have any additional comments?

The tone of this volume is different from that of I Claudius. It covers only 14 years, not the century or so that the earlier book did, but it is just as long -- maybe longer. The amount of detail and the sheer number of characters in Claudius the God could be overwhelming for readers who just want a good, fast-moving story. I liked this book, but most of the characters just are not as compelling as the ones in I Claudius. Claudius certainly had much more affection and admiration for the people from his early life than he did for those who surrounded him when he was emperor.

Don't Stop With I Claudius

This is really I Claudius, Vol II. The story continues. The story moves like that of a good novel. The history is good to learn while enjoying a good read. You realize from reading between the lines and from comparing to what historians believe that this account is quite biased toward Claudius. But, this is after all written in the form of an autobiography, so what would you expect? The subplot of Herod is an interesting one.

The story continues!

I'm a lover of ancient Roman history, and I found this book wonderful. It might not be entirely accurate but it sure is fun.

We take up the story of Claudius where we left of with his miraculous and seemingly ridiculous ascension to Emperor. The story remains interesting but now we see how Claudius himself reacts to that kind of power, Spoiler Alert: it goes to his head. Claudius continues to narrate his life and give us his impressions, and the "truth".

Simply a wonderful book, I couldn't stop listing! I can't wait to listen to both them again soon.

Great ! a must read!

bought the book to highlight the soo.... wise thoughts! very well narrated! I am re-listening it to catch all the moments I lost while listening the first time.History at is best

a good conclusion to the story.

I like the expansion of Herod's story from the TV show but it was still a good cut to have on the show.

The Deified King of Historical Fiction

I, Claudius and Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina are two of the greatest novels of historical fiction EVER. Probably the only writers who come close to Grave's mastery of history and literature are (in no particular order): Gore Vidal (Lincoln, Burr, etc), Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies) and Norman Mailer (The Executioner's Song, Harlot's Ghost).

Obviously, Shakespeare is the master of historical fiction/drama but he is so obviously the deified king of this that the Shakespearian 'sun needs no inscription to distinguish him from darkness'.

Grave's dilogy must be intimidating to a historian of Imperial Rome. The personality of Claudius has been so deeply set by Graves that I'm not sure any tweaking by modern historians will be able to fool with Grave's fool. The Genius of 'I, Claudius' and 'Glaudius the God' is derived from Graves' ability to create such an amazingly rich and deep literary character. The closest I've come across in recent times is Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell. Books like these are rare and seem to grow more amazing with each year.

Must repeat- This is Fiction, This is Fiction

I really enjoyed this novel. I did keep forgetting that it was fiction. It is easy to do that with both novels. Before thinking you learned something, look it up, it may just be the Author's imagination. That isn't a flaw as long as your remember this is Historical Fiction based historical characters.

More Claudius

On part with the first though the subject matter and supporting cast of characters are of a little lesser note. However, if you are interested in Claudius as a character then you will enjoy seeing him handle the empororship.

Excellent.

Fantastic sequel/rest of the story of Claudius. I’ve recently read both Margarette George’s stories of Nero, so this was a nice treat after those amazing books.
Going to stick to this author for a while and read some of histories.
Must give serious praise to Nelson Runger. He’s normally excellent, and this performance was sheer brilliance. Hated for it to end. Also loved the 3 stories at the end. They were well selected.

Great story. Great narration.

I have read the book a few times but I always like to listen to it again. Check it out.