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Caligula
Published by Penguin for more than sixty years, the author and scholar Robert Graves wrote two of the greatest historical novels of the twentieth century: I Claudius and Claudius the God. Written as Claudius' autobiography, they follow his progress from a stammering figure of fun to the ruler of the Roman Empire. Here, in extracts from both books, he describes the glory and decadence of the mad Emperor Caligula's reign - an age of wild debauchery and whimsical cruelty.
58 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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About the author
Robert Graves
639 books2,062 followersRobert von Ranke Graves was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. Born in Wimbledon, he 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 31, 2015
Caligula is an extract from two of Robert Graves’ historical novels, I, Claudius and Claudius the God, focusing on the mad Roman emperor as told from the perspective of his uncle Claudius. It’s one thing to read an historical account of Caligula by Suetonius, quite another to read a dramatized account by a skilled 20th century novelist.
The opening scene instantly grabs the reader. Claudius is summoned to Caligula’s bed chamber in the middle of the night. Kneeling before him, Caligula languidly waves his sword around Claudius as if pondering whether he should kill his uncle, announcing casually that he’s ascended to godhood. It’s brilliantly written so that we immediately know two things: Caligula is menacing/dangerous, and he is totally bonkers.
From there it’s a rich and compelling revitalisation of history as we see Caligula’s debauched and vicious reign vividly brought to life through Claudius’ fictional autobiography. Caligula is characterised as utterly unstable, his personality swaying from fearful, child-like vulnerability to cruel rages with always a veneer of sneering arrogance beneath the surface. He’s a fascinating figure to read about because his insanity led to such unpredictable and strange actions.
He lashed together thousands of ships so he could ride his horse, Incitatus (whom he would later try to make a consul), across them, in a ridiculous display of his “godhood” – he can “ride across water” like a god! A storm would later destroy hundreds of ships meaning food imports were severely reduced leading to thousands starving. Later on he would call Claudius and some senators up to his palace in the middle of the night. Fearing they were going to be executed, they were astonished to find the emperor putting on a private show just for them, dressing up and singing!
Graves superbly builds up the tension until Caligula’s tyrannical rule was no longer tenable. He was assassinated in a style similar to his ancestor, Julius Caesar, and Claudius is made emperor, against his will.
At roughly 50 pages, it’s a short book and serves more as a taster for Graves’ longer historical novels, but it is nevertheless an engrossing vision of one of the Roman Empire’s most famous tyrants, well-written, informative and entertaining.
The opening scene instantly grabs the reader. Claudius is summoned to Caligula’s bed chamber in the middle of the night. Kneeling before him, Caligula languidly waves his sword around Claudius as if pondering whether he should kill his uncle, announcing casually that he’s ascended to godhood. It’s brilliantly written so that we immediately know two things: Caligula is menacing/dangerous, and he is totally bonkers.
From there it’s a rich and compelling revitalisation of history as we see Caligula’s debauched and vicious reign vividly brought to life through Claudius’ fictional autobiography. Caligula is characterised as utterly unstable, his personality swaying from fearful, child-like vulnerability to cruel rages with always a veneer of sneering arrogance beneath the surface. He’s a fascinating figure to read about because his insanity led to such unpredictable and strange actions.
He lashed together thousands of ships so he could ride his horse, Incitatus (whom he would later try to make a consul), across them, in a ridiculous display of his “godhood” – he can “ride across water” like a god! A storm would later destroy hundreds of ships meaning food imports were severely reduced leading to thousands starving. Later on he would call Claudius and some senators up to his palace in the middle of the night. Fearing they were going to be executed, they were astonished to find the emperor putting on a private show just for them, dressing up and singing!
Graves superbly builds up the tension until Caligula’s tyrannical rule was no longer tenable. He was assassinated in a style similar to his ancestor, Julius Caesar, and Claudius is made emperor, against his will.
At roughly 50 pages, it’s a short book and serves more as a taster for Graves’ longer historical novels, but it is nevertheless an engrossing vision of one of the Roman Empire’s most famous tyrants, well-written, informative and entertaining.
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July 7, 2023۱۴۰۲/۴/۱۶
March 23, 2017
حکایتی نه چندان قوی و خوب به تحریر درآمده از بخشی از زندگانی کالیگولا، حاکم ستمگر و دیوانه روم به روایت عمویش کلادیوس.
April 4, 2021
تازه به نمایشنامه خواندن عادت کردم
September 21, 2014
داستان زندگی سزار کالیگولا سومین امپراتور روم بود که وقتی به امپراتوری رسید دچار جنون شد و عقلش رو از دست داد. داستان واقعی هستش، اتفاقای وحشتناکی افتاد، کشتارهایی که انجام میداد واسه سرگرمی و رابطههای جنسی که با خواهراش و زنای فرماندههاش داشته و چقدر از مقامات رو قتل عام کرده و تو توهماتش خیلی آدم بزرگی خودش رو تصور میکرده و یه قشر نظامی هم تاییدش میکردن. درکل واقعنگاری تاریخی جالبی بود
کتاب صوتیش رو میتونید از اینجا دانلود کنید:
http://www.radiotehran.ir/boxesview.p...
کتاب صوتیش رو میتونید از اینجا دانلود کنید:
http://www.radiotehran.ir/boxesview.p...
February 3, 2015
کتاب صوتیش رو خیلی رندوم چون چیز دیگه ای توی ماشین نداشتم که بین راه تهران کرج بخونم، گوش دادم تا نصف...خیلی حوصله سر بر بود. بعید می دونم حتی یه روزی رغبت کنم تا آخر بخونمش چون اصلا برام جذاب نبود!
ولی حالا اینجا ثبت کردم که اگه تجدید نظر کردم دوباره بیام بخونمش :/
http://www.radiotehran.ir/boxesview.p...
ولی حالا اینجا ثبت کردم که اگه تجدید نظر کردم دوباره بیام بخونمش :/
http://www.radiotehran.ir/boxesview.p...
January 27, 2020
فایل صوتی
میدونی؟!
موضوع اینه که انگار طرف خودش دیر میفهمه که مثلا ظالم شده. ادم بده شده.
بیشتر وقتا هم نمیخوایم قبول کنیم که آدم بده شدیم.
بعضی وقتا هم دور و بریا نمیذارن بفهمی
ولی حتما هیچوقت یادت نمیره که قدرت چقدر کثیفه
منتها دیگه بهش اهمیت نمیدی
میدونی؟!
موضوع اینه که انگار طرف خودش دیر میفهمه که مثلا ظالم شده. ادم بده شده.
بیشتر وقتا هم نمیخوایم قبول کنیم که آدم بده شدیم.
بعضی وقتا هم دور و بریا نمیذارن بفهمی
ولی حتما هیچوقت یادت نمیره که قدرت چقدر کثیفه
منتها دیگه بهش اهمیت نمیدی
November 19, 2020
Really well written!
July 27, 2011
Told by Claudius, the book gives a view of personal experience with the mad Roman emperor Caligula.
February 16, 2018
Wonderful little book that gives interesting insights into the work of Robert Graves ...
September 15, 2019
دیوانه بازی های یک امپراطور که بیمار نبود، فقط ناسالم بود..
February 22, 2021
Too short - merely an excerpt from the magnificent I, Claudius and Claudius the God, not a new book in its own right.
November 11, 2022
A very interesting story thank to Grave's storytelling skill. It is said that the story is a small part of his dwilogy and it provokes me to read them.
June 25, 2024
This is an extract so I'm now interested in reading the full book. Really interesting insight into this period in roman history.
October 3, 2015
After recently reading about the exploits of characters such as Adolf Hitler and Reinhardt Heydrich, as well as the leaders of the first Crusade, this account (in the guise of historical fiction) of the last days of the Roman emperor Caligula leaves me slightly irritated: he spent huge amounts of money for frivolous entertainment, subjected thousands to bizarre emotional and physical violence and abuse, and declared himself a god. Was he really mad? He could have been, but given his power and loyal support by certain groups of guards, he seemed untouchable. Finally a group of people carried out a plot to kill him; they then convinced his uncle Claudius to replace him. Robert Graves describes all of this from the perspective of Claudius in an almost cool, almost unconnected tone. It is easily readable: the writing seems not to have aged since the original publication of the novels from which this text is excerpted during the 1930s.
Robert Graves se portret van die waansinnige Caligula tydens die laaste dae van sy heerskappy (hy is deur 'n groep opponente vermoor) word vaardig en vlot vertel vanuit die perspektief van sy oom en opvolger, Claudius.
Robert Graves se portret van die waansinnige Caligula tydens die laaste dae van sy heerskappy (hy is deur 'n groep opponente vermoor) word vaardig en vlot vertel vanuit die perspektief van sy oom en opvolger, Claudius.
July 31, 2014
"In May 2005 Penguin will publish 70 unique titles to celebrate the company's 70th birthday. The titles in the Pocket Penguins series are emblematic of the renowned breadth and quality of the Penguin list and will hark back to Penguin founder Allen Lane's vision of 'good books for all'. Published by Penguin for more than sixty years, the author and scholar Robert Graves wrote two of the greatest historical novels of the twentieth century: I Claudius and Claudius the God."
This tiny book is simply an extract. If you've already read I Claudius and Claudius the God, you've read it all before. If you haven't, what are you waiting for?
This tiny book is simply an extract. If you've already read I Claudius and Claudius the God, you've read it all before. If you haven't, what are you waiting for?
March 25, 2016
The distant past seems to be, well, very distant now. Sometimes it's hard to imagine stories like these aren't fairytales at all. That things actually happened.
Anyway, this is bloody gruesome. It certainly isn't one of those bedtime stories for the little ones. And I think Caligula got what he deserved.
Anyway, this is bloody gruesome. It certainly isn't one of those bedtime stories for the little ones. And I think Caligula got what he deserved.
December 19, 2015
داستان از زبان عموی کالیگولا هست. کالیگولا امپراطور روم هست که بر اثر مرگ دروسیلا دچار جنون شده و به شدت مردم سرزمینش رو آزار میده و شکنجه میکنه
این داستان از جنبه ی روایی و داستانی برام جذاب نبود
کالیگولای آلبرکامو رو ترجیح میدم
این داستان از جنبه ی روایی و داستانی برام جذاب نبود
کالیگولای آلبرکامو رو ترجیح میدم
November 7, 2014
Fifty odd pages of Head Spinning Crazy. This is a single longish auto ride worth of madstuff. I Liked it, a lot.
February 15, 2016
A quick introduction to Graves' more substantial novels. Wonderfully written with great pace.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews