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The Claudius Novels: I, Claudius and Claudius the God
A work of historical fiction which recreates the life and times of Emperor Claudius, who lived from 10 BC to AD 41, a time when poisoning, blasphemy, treachery, incest and unnatural vice were commonplace. From the author of CLAUDIUS THE GOD AND HIS WIFE MESSALINA.
Kindle Edition
Published May 30, 2025
About the author
Robert Graves
702 books2,253 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 - 30 of 122 reviews
February 17, 2014
Having seen the TV series some time back, I have been looking for this for some time. Finally listened to it in audiobook this weekend. Still excellent - a classic that I will keep around and go back to once in a while. Very well written, with everything a good story needs: love, suspense, deceit, politics, friendships, treason, ambition and ironies of fate playing tricks on the characters...
A book about a very human experience, the story of a convinced republican, who became emperor - by accident... A book about power and how it changes the people who have it.
A book about a very human experience, the story of a convinced republican, who became emperor - by accident... A book about power and how it changes the people who have it.
January 14, 2017
Ah, the story that launched a thousand melodramas about the Roman Empire. At last I know the inspiration for HBO's Rome, Showtime's Spartacus, and yes, even Gladiator. For this is where it all began: every tale of debauched and insane emperors and cruel, manipulative women being the power behind the throne. All can trace their lineage back to the O.G. crazy-Roman-schemers-wracking-up-a-body-count book. And this is it.
The (much abridged) plot: an unlikely uncle of crazy ole' Caligula accidentally becomes Emperor after spending his whole life being overlooked and underestimated because of his stammer and his limp. And it turns out he does a damn good job of it, which is a big relief to the Romans, who had to endure Tiberius (a cruel, selfish, impotent tyrant) and then Caligula (a fucking criminally insane egotist who bankrupted the empire). This is how--in a story over 500 pages long--Claudius was raised and educated, survived, ascended to the emperorship, and went about fixing the huge mess his predecessors left him. It has a supporting cast of literally hundreds, and spans literally decades.
I'm going to be honest, the sheer number of characters (many of whom either have the same name or confusingly similar names) was the most mind-boggling part of reading this book. I made the wise decision of listening to it on audiobook, which helped not only because I could speed up the narration, but different voices were used to differentiate characters. Otherwise I fear I would have been hopelessly lost.
I walked away with an impression of disbelief. I'm sure Graves exaggerated some details for dramatic effect and the sake of meaningful fiction. But the basic facts are all pulled straight from the history books. And that history is fucked up. Like, it's insane that Augustus's mistress just went about poisoning everyone in the line of succession until her own son was next in line to be emperor... with no one stopping her! It's insane that Caligula ran the empire into the ground with his ridiculous extravagances and there were no checks and balances in place to stop him. It's insane that a republic couldn't be restored because of fear of the military's independent power as a king-making force. It's insane that a former reality TV star and failed businessman won the election to be President of the United--wait, sorry, that's reality, not I, Claudius. But believe you me, our recent election and everything that's happened since could fit pretty damn well in this classic tale of political corruption, moral debauchery, and elitist abuse of the working class.
And yet this fucking happened (for the most part). I did feel at some points that I had read this story before... and that's when I realized that so many contemporary fiction about Rome drew heavily from Graves as their source material. This book is so sweepingly influential and groundbreaking that it has been the model for most Roman empire fiction to follow it. And if that isn't the mark of great literature, I don't know what is.
But let's talk about Claudius. The "idiot" who survived simply because no one thought he was worth killing. As a character, he is fascinating. He survives through a combination of luck (being born a lame stutterer among handsome, accomplished, athletic brothers tends to make one fade into the background) and his own wits (he's so fucking smart he ends up talking his way out of any scrape his natural pathetic demeanor can't get him out of). He's perfectly placed to take over the empire and fix its shit simply because his predecessors wiped out so much of the competition that there's literally no one left able to challenge him. All the heroic patriots are dead. All the vicious schemers have blundered into their own demises. All that are left are the survivors, who are either so relieved to have a sane emperor that they fall in line to help him, or so cunning that they play the long game in opposing him.
The story is narrated in the first person, so we spend a lot of time in Claudius's head. And that's a pretty good place to be. Whether by historical fact or the author's artifice, Claudius is a historian. And as such, he's pretty damn good at explaining all the moving pieces and how they fit together. But more than simply being an effective narrator, Claudius has an interesting voice. He's narrating from his deathbed, so he is in turns tired and regretful. He's wise, but still slightly pathetic. His feelings are easily hurt. But unlike Caligula, who would simply murder anyone who so much as looked at him wrong, Claudius responds to his hurt feelings by accepting that he probably deserved to be shat upon anyway. His self esteem is so startlingly low that he takes his many heartbreaks and personal insults in stride.
The narration is ridiculously dense. This is not a light read (another reason I'm glad I listened to it instead). But it is fascinating, and I'm certainly glad I read it.
The (much abridged) plot: an unlikely uncle of crazy ole' Caligula accidentally becomes Emperor after spending his whole life being overlooked and underestimated because of his stammer and his limp. And it turns out he does a damn good job of it, which is a big relief to the Romans, who had to endure Tiberius (a cruel, selfish, impotent tyrant) and then Caligula (a fucking criminally insane egotist who bankrupted the empire). This is how--in a story over 500 pages long--Claudius was raised and educated, survived, ascended to the emperorship, and went about fixing the huge mess his predecessors left him. It has a supporting cast of literally hundreds, and spans literally decades.
I'm going to be honest, the sheer number of characters (many of whom either have the same name or confusingly similar names) was the most mind-boggling part of reading this book. I made the wise decision of listening to it on audiobook, which helped not only because I could speed up the narration, but different voices were used to differentiate characters. Otherwise I fear I would have been hopelessly lost.
I walked away with an impression of disbelief. I'm sure Graves exaggerated some details for dramatic effect and the sake of meaningful fiction. But the basic facts are all pulled straight from the history books. And that history is fucked up. Like, it's insane that Augustus's mistress just went about poisoning everyone in the line of succession until her own son was next in line to be emperor... with no one stopping her! It's insane that Caligula ran the empire into the ground with his ridiculous extravagances and there were no checks and balances in place to stop him. It's insane that a republic couldn't be restored because of fear of the military's independent power as a king-making force. It's insane that a former reality TV star and failed businessman won the election to be President of the United--wait, sorry, that's reality, not I, Claudius. But believe you me, our recent election and everything that's happened since could fit pretty damn well in this classic tale of political corruption, moral debauchery, and elitist abuse of the working class.
And yet this fucking happened (for the most part). I did feel at some points that I had read this story before... and that's when I realized that so many contemporary fiction about Rome drew heavily from Graves as their source material. This book is so sweepingly influential and groundbreaking that it has been the model for most Roman empire fiction to follow it. And if that isn't the mark of great literature, I don't know what is.
But let's talk about Claudius. The "idiot" who survived simply because no one thought he was worth killing. As a character, he is fascinating. He survives through a combination of luck (being born a lame stutterer among handsome, accomplished, athletic brothers tends to make one fade into the background) and his own wits (he's so fucking smart he ends up talking his way out of any scrape his natural pathetic demeanor can't get him out of). He's perfectly placed to take over the empire and fix its shit simply because his predecessors wiped out so much of the competition that there's literally no one left able to challenge him. All the heroic patriots are dead. All the vicious schemers have blundered into their own demises. All that are left are the survivors, who are either so relieved to have a sane emperor that they fall in line to help him, or so cunning that they play the long game in opposing him.
The story is narrated in the first person, so we spend a lot of time in Claudius's head. And that's a pretty good place to be. Whether by historical fact or the author's artifice, Claudius is a historian. And as such, he's pretty damn good at explaining all the moving pieces and how they fit together. But more than simply being an effective narrator, Claudius has an interesting voice. He's narrating from his deathbed, so he is in turns tired and regretful. He's wise, but still slightly pathetic. His feelings are easily hurt. But unlike Caligula, who would simply murder anyone who so much as looked at him wrong, Claudius responds to his hurt feelings by accepting that he probably deserved to be shat upon anyway. His self esteem is so startlingly low that he takes his many heartbreaks and personal insults in stride.
The narration is ridiculously dense. This is not a light read (another reason I'm glad I listened to it instead). But it is fascinating, and I'm certainly glad I read it.
February 12, 2013
For me, this is the historical novel. This edition contains two books, the original I, Claudius and the sequel, Claudius the God. I devoured them one after the other, and I have read them again many times since.
From the very first paragraph you're rooting for poor old Clau-clau-claudius. The author manages to portray an entire character in just a few beautifully chosen words.
And, despite the debauchery and the Machiavellian intrigues, of which there are plenty, this book is an unrivalled character portrait. The settings put you in ancient Rome, but it's the characters that bring it so vividly to life as Claudius manages to dodge his way through the lives of some of history's most famous monsters long enough to write his autobiography.
A must read.
From the very first paragraph you're rooting for poor old Clau-clau-claudius. The author manages to portray an entire character in just a few beautifully chosen words.
And, despite the debauchery and the Machiavellian intrigues, of which there are plenty, this book is an unrivalled character portrait. The settings put you in ancient Rome, but it's the characters that bring it so vividly to life as Claudius manages to dodge his way through the lives of some of history's most famous monsters long enough to write his autobiography.
A must read.
October 10, 2026
Scandal, Intrigue, and the Glorious Madness of Ancient Rome!
Some books transport you to another time. These books throw open the doors of imperial Rome, invite you into the palace, and leave you wondering how anyone managed to survive such a spectacularly dysfunctional family!
Robert Graves’s I, Claudius and Claudius the God are magnificent works of historical fiction: richly imagined, wickedly entertaining, darkly humorous, and filled with political intrigue, ambition, betrayal, and unforgettable characters. Together, they offer an extraordinary journey into the heart of the Roman Empire, where power is intoxicating, loyalty is precarious, and a family dinner can feel more dangerous than a battlefield.
Forget the polished marble statues and grand declarations of Roman glory. Behind the splendor lurks a world of poisonous rivalries, calculated marriages, whispered conspiracies, shocking betrayals, and people willing to do almost anything to secure their place in history.
Welcome to Rome, where surviving your relatives is practically an imperial achievement!
🏛️ I, Claudius: The Most Dangerous Person in the Room May Be the One Nobody Notices
Claudius is an unlikely hero. Afflicted with a stammer and a limp, he is dismissed by many of his illustrious relatives as weak, foolish, and inconsequential. In a family obsessed with power, he seems an easy person to overlook.
What a glorious mistake!
While others scheme, posture, manipulate, and fight for supremacy, Claudius watches, listens, learns, and remembers. His intelligence and curiosity become his greatest assets in a world where revealing too much knowledge can be fatal.
Graves makes Claudius an irresistible narrator, drawing us into a dangerous imperial household where every smile may conceal an ulterior motive, every favor may carry a price, and every whispered rumor can have devastating consequences.
And what a cast of characters surrounds him!
Livia is a particularly fascinating presence: calculating, formidable, politically astute, and utterly captivating. She understands that power does not always require a throne. Sometimes it requires patience, influence, and the ability to make others believe that your decisions were entirely their own.
The wider imperial family is equally compelling, a collection of ambitious, complicated, and frequently appalling individuals whose private rivalries threaten to reshape the destiny of Rome.
Graves makes these historical figures feel wonderfully alive. They are not distant names trapped in a textbook but intensely human personalities driven by vanity, fear, resentment, desire, and the desperate need to control their own destinies.
The result is a delicious combination of historical drama, family saga, political thriller, and dark comedy. The humor is sharp, the intrigue is addictive, and the tension keeps you turning pages.
Most importantly, Claudius’s story reminds us that intelligence does not always announce itself, weakness is not always what it seems, and the person everyone underestimates may understand the game better than anyone else.
⚔️ Claudius the God: From Overlooked Observer to Emperor
If I, Claudius is the story of survival, Claudius the God explores the extraordinary complications of finally acquiring the power everyone else has been fighting over.
What happens when the overlooked man becomes the man everyone must obey?
Claudius’s elevation to the imperial throne changes everything, but it does not magically make life simpler. Suddenly, he must confront the responsibilities of government, the demands of an empire, the expectations of those around him, and the uncomfortable realization that ruling is considerably more complicated than observing other people rule.
The second novel expands the story into the world of administration, political maneuvering, public responsibility, and the difficult compromises of leadership.
Claudius possesses intelligence, learning, and a genuine interest in the affairs of Rome. Yet he remains human, with vulnerabilities, blind spots, personal loyalties, and the capacity to make mistakes.
That is precisely what makes his journey so compelling.
Graves avoids the simplistic fantasy of an overlooked outsider becoming powerful and immediately proving superior to everyone else. Instead, he explores the complicated relationship between intelligence, authority, and human nature.
Understanding the machinery of power is one thing. Operating it is another.
Recognizing manipulation is one thing. Avoiding its temptations when you possess authority yourself is another entirely.
Together, these novels create a fascinating portrait of a man who discovers that survival may be only the beginning of the struggle.
🐍 Dark Humor, Political Intrigue, and the Spectacular Absurdity of Human Nature
One of the greatest pleasures of these books is how entertaining they are, even when the events are genuinely disturbing.
Graves has a wickedly sharp eye for the absurdities of powerful people. The grand speeches, inflated egos, carefully manufactured reputations, and relentless ambitions of the Roman elite are wonderfully exposed.
The empire may be enormous, but the egos are even larger!
Behind the language of honor and duty are people struggling with personal grievances, insecurity, jealousy, and the desire to control how history remembers them. Graves understands that human absurdity does not disappear in the presence of tragedy; sometimes it becomes even more apparent.
His wit gives the novels their sparkle, while the ever-present danger ensures that the humor never diminishes the stakes.
There is also tremendous pleasure in trying to decipher the hidden motives behind every conversation. Who can be trusted? Who is manipulating whom? What is being concealed behind a charming smile or a grand public declaration?
Reading these books feels like watching an elaborate political chess match in which the players are brilliant, flawed, unpredictable, and sometimes spectacularly foolish.
And the consequences are enormous.
✍️ Robert Graves: A Master Storyteller
Graves’s greatest achievement is making ancient Rome feel immediate, intimate, and startlingly recognizable.
His prose is engaging, intelligent, ironic, and wonderfully attentive to human behavior. He transforms historical material into a living narrative without sacrificing the political complexity or historical atmosphere that make the setting so fascinating.
The first-person perspective is particularly effective. Through Claudius, we experience the imperial world as both participant and observer, sharing his fears and frustrations while benefiting from his remarkable ability to analyze the people around him.
The result is history that feels personal rather than remote.
Although the novels draw on ancient historical sources, Graves also uses the imaginative freedom of historical fiction to reconstruct private thoughts, conversations, and motivations. The books are not straightforward historical biographies, and their interpretations should not be mistaken for indisputable historical fact. Their brilliance lies in the way they transform surviving history into an absorbing exploration of human nature.
Power, after all, has always attracted ambitious people. Families have always concealed uncomfortable truths. Leaders have always struggled with the distance between their public reputations and private realities.
That is why these novels remain so compelling.
Beneath the Roman names, imperial titles, and ancient customs are recognizably human struggles that still resonate today.
❤️ Why These Two Novels Belong Together
Read together, I, Claudius and Claudius the God offer an exceptionally rewarding literary experience.
The first explores what it means to survive when power belongs to other people. The second asks what happens when that power becomes your responsibility.
One is a story of observation, endurance, and unexpected survival; the other is a story of leadership, compromise, and the burdens of authority.
At the center of both is Claudius, a wonderfully complex protagonist whose intelligence is matched by his vulnerability and whose extraordinary journey continually challenges our assumptions about strength and weakness.
These are not simplistic stories populated by obvious heroes and villains. They are rich, layered portraits of people whose motivations are complicated and whose choices have consequences far beyond their immediate ambitions.
And they are gloriously readable!
Graves combines historical richness with the pleasures of a gripping family saga, the suspense of a political thriller, and the wicked amusement of watching powerful people discover that they are not nearly as clever as they imagine.
🌟 Final Verdict: Five Glorious Stars!
I, Claudius and Claudius the God are magnificent examples of historical fiction at its finest: intelligent, immersive, darkly funny, politically astute, and filled with unforgettable characters.
Robert Graves transforms imperial Rome into a vivid world of ambition, intrigue, betrayal, and survival. He makes the ancient past feel startlingly alive while reminding us that the most fascinating historical stories are ultimately stories about people.
Claudius is an extraordinary guide through this dangerous world, a man whose apparent weaknesses conceal remarkable strengths and whose journey reveals the complicated realities of power.
These novels are clever, absorbing, and wonderfully entertaining. They invite you to laugh, gasp, speculate, and marvel at the astonishing lengths people will go to protect their ambitions and secure their place in history.
My verdict: Brilliant, addictive, wickedly entertaining, and deeply rewarding. Five stars for two unforgettable classics that deserve a place on every historical fiction lover’s bookshelf!
Read I, Claudius first, then move straight into Claudius the God. Prepare to lose yourself in ancient Rome, where appearances deceive, ambition rules, and survival is an art.
👑 Two magnificent novels. One unforgettable emperor. A gloriously scandalous journey through the heart of Rome. Highly recommended!
#IClaudius #ClaudiusTheGod #RobertGraves #HistoricalFiction #AncientRome #RomanHistory #ClassicLiterature #BookReview #FiveStarRead
Some books transport you to another time. These books throw open the doors of imperial Rome, invite you into the palace, and leave you wondering how anyone managed to survive such a spectacularly dysfunctional family!
Robert Graves’s I, Claudius and Claudius the God are magnificent works of historical fiction: richly imagined, wickedly entertaining, darkly humorous, and filled with political intrigue, ambition, betrayal, and unforgettable characters. Together, they offer an extraordinary journey into the heart of the Roman Empire, where power is intoxicating, loyalty is precarious, and a family dinner can feel more dangerous than a battlefield.
Forget the polished marble statues and grand declarations of Roman glory. Behind the splendor lurks a world of poisonous rivalries, calculated marriages, whispered conspiracies, shocking betrayals, and people willing to do almost anything to secure their place in history.
Welcome to Rome, where surviving your relatives is practically an imperial achievement!
🏛️ I, Claudius: The Most Dangerous Person in the Room May Be the One Nobody Notices
Claudius is an unlikely hero. Afflicted with a stammer and a limp, he is dismissed by many of his illustrious relatives as weak, foolish, and inconsequential. In a family obsessed with power, he seems an easy person to overlook.
What a glorious mistake!
While others scheme, posture, manipulate, and fight for supremacy, Claudius watches, listens, learns, and remembers. His intelligence and curiosity become his greatest assets in a world where revealing too much knowledge can be fatal.
Graves makes Claudius an irresistible narrator, drawing us into a dangerous imperial household where every smile may conceal an ulterior motive, every favor may carry a price, and every whispered rumor can have devastating consequences.
And what a cast of characters surrounds him!
Livia is a particularly fascinating presence: calculating, formidable, politically astute, and utterly captivating. She understands that power does not always require a throne. Sometimes it requires patience, influence, and the ability to make others believe that your decisions were entirely their own.
The wider imperial family is equally compelling, a collection of ambitious, complicated, and frequently appalling individuals whose private rivalries threaten to reshape the destiny of Rome.
Graves makes these historical figures feel wonderfully alive. They are not distant names trapped in a textbook but intensely human personalities driven by vanity, fear, resentment, desire, and the desperate need to control their own destinies.
The result is a delicious combination of historical drama, family saga, political thriller, and dark comedy. The humor is sharp, the intrigue is addictive, and the tension keeps you turning pages.
Most importantly, Claudius’s story reminds us that intelligence does not always announce itself, weakness is not always what it seems, and the person everyone underestimates may understand the game better than anyone else.
⚔️ Claudius the God: From Overlooked Observer to Emperor
If I, Claudius is the story of survival, Claudius the God explores the extraordinary complications of finally acquiring the power everyone else has been fighting over.
What happens when the overlooked man becomes the man everyone must obey?
Claudius’s elevation to the imperial throne changes everything, but it does not magically make life simpler. Suddenly, he must confront the responsibilities of government, the demands of an empire, the expectations of those around him, and the uncomfortable realization that ruling is considerably more complicated than observing other people rule.
The second novel expands the story into the world of administration, political maneuvering, public responsibility, and the difficult compromises of leadership.
Claudius possesses intelligence, learning, and a genuine interest in the affairs of Rome. Yet he remains human, with vulnerabilities, blind spots, personal loyalties, and the capacity to make mistakes.
That is precisely what makes his journey so compelling.
Graves avoids the simplistic fantasy of an overlooked outsider becoming powerful and immediately proving superior to everyone else. Instead, he explores the complicated relationship between intelligence, authority, and human nature.
Understanding the machinery of power is one thing. Operating it is another.
Recognizing manipulation is one thing. Avoiding its temptations when you possess authority yourself is another entirely.
Together, these novels create a fascinating portrait of a man who discovers that survival may be only the beginning of the struggle.
🐍 Dark Humor, Political Intrigue, and the Spectacular Absurdity of Human Nature
One of the greatest pleasures of these books is how entertaining they are, even when the events are genuinely disturbing.
Graves has a wickedly sharp eye for the absurdities of powerful people. The grand speeches, inflated egos, carefully manufactured reputations, and relentless ambitions of the Roman elite are wonderfully exposed.
The empire may be enormous, but the egos are even larger!
Behind the language of honor and duty are people struggling with personal grievances, insecurity, jealousy, and the desire to control how history remembers them. Graves understands that human absurdity does not disappear in the presence of tragedy; sometimes it becomes even more apparent.
His wit gives the novels their sparkle, while the ever-present danger ensures that the humor never diminishes the stakes.
There is also tremendous pleasure in trying to decipher the hidden motives behind every conversation. Who can be trusted? Who is manipulating whom? What is being concealed behind a charming smile or a grand public declaration?
Reading these books feels like watching an elaborate political chess match in which the players are brilliant, flawed, unpredictable, and sometimes spectacularly foolish.
And the consequences are enormous.
✍️ Robert Graves: A Master Storyteller
Graves’s greatest achievement is making ancient Rome feel immediate, intimate, and startlingly recognizable.
His prose is engaging, intelligent, ironic, and wonderfully attentive to human behavior. He transforms historical material into a living narrative without sacrificing the political complexity or historical atmosphere that make the setting so fascinating.
The first-person perspective is particularly effective. Through Claudius, we experience the imperial world as both participant and observer, sharing his fears and frustrations while benefiting from his remarkable ability to analyze the people around him.
The result is history that feels personal rather than remote.
Although the novels draw on ancient historical sources, Graves also uses the imaginative freedom of historical fiction to reconstruct private thoughts, conversations, and motivations. The books are not straightforward historical biographies, and their interpretations should not be mistaken for indisputable historical fact. Their brilliance lies in the way they transform surviving history into an absorbing exploration of human nature.
Power, after all, has always attracted ambitious people. Families have always concealed uncomfortable truths. Leaders have always struggled with the distance between their public reputations and private realities.
That is why these novels remain so compelling.
Beneath the Roman names, imperial titles, and ancient customs are recognizably human struggles that still resonate today.
❤️ Why These Two Novels Belong Together
Read together, I, Claudius and Claudius the God offer an exceptionally rewarding literary experience.
The first explores what it means to survive when power belongs to other people. The second asks what happens when that power becomes your responsibility.
One is a story of observation, endurance, and unexpected survival; the other is a story of leadership, compromise, and the burdens of authority.
At the center of both is Claudius, a wonderfully complex protagonist whose intelligence is matched by his vulnerability and whose extraordinary journey continually challenges our assumptions about strength and weakness.
These are not simplistic stories populated by obvious heroes and villains. They are rich, layered portraits of people whose motivations are complicated and whose choices have consequences far beyond their immediate ambitions.
And they are gloriously readable!
Graves combines historical richness with the pleasures of a gripping family saga, the suspense of a political thriller, and the wicked amusement of watching powerful people discover that they are not nearly as clever as they imagine.
🌟 Final Verdict: Five Glorious Stars!
I, Claudius and Claudius the God are magnificent examples of historical fiction at its finest: intelligent, immersive, darkly funny, politically astute, and filled with unforgettable characters.
Robert Graves transforms imperial Rome into a vivid world of ambition, intrigue, betrayal, and survival. He makes the ancient past feel startlingly alive while reminding us that the most fascinating historical stories are ultimately stories about people.
Claudius is an extraordinary guide through this dangerous world, a man whose apparent weaknesses conceal remarkable strengths and whose journey reveals the complicated realities of power.
These novels are clever, absorbing, and wonderfully entertaining. They invite you to laugh, gasp, speculate, and marvel at the astonishing lengths people will go to protect their ambitions and secure their place in history.
My verdict: Brilliant, addictive, wickedly entertaining, and deeply rewarding. Five stars for two unforgettable classics that deserve a place on every historical fiction lover’s bookshelf!
Read I, Claudius first, then move straight into Claudius the God. Prepare to lose yourself in ancient Rome, where appearances deceive, ambition rules, and survival is an art.
👑 Two magnificent novels. One unforgettable emperor. A gloriously scandalous journey through the heart of Rome. Highly recommended!
#IClaudius #ClaudiusTheGod #RobertGraves #HistoricalFiction #AncientRome #RomanHistory #ClassicLiterature #BookReview #FiveStarRead
August 9, 2022
Brilliant, read it twice and I am sure will read it again.
November 29, 2025
Claudius the God by Robert Graves
Legendary work
It is a BBC adaptation that I am discussing here and not the original.
If I, Claudius appears as rated, commented and read twice, it is because that’s what happened, albeit the second time it was an adaptation.
Claudius becomes not just the emperor, but also a God as the title suggests, in spite of his republican convictions.
Well, at least until he became the most powerful man in the world and changed his views to a certain degree.
When he was instated, we must say it was against his will, for he had been a scholar, satisfied with life in a library, more or less.
But the killing of Caligula, notwithstanding its necessity, opened the door for opportunists and the outlook was grim.
Herod, king of Judea has a talk with Claudius and makes a few strong points in favor of accepting the title:
- If you don’t become emperor, others will fight for the power and hell will break loose
I guess it is not what Claudius said, but that is one of the points:
- How much is hard work and research of historical documents and what is artistic license?
- Obviously the dialogue is a product of imagination, but some facts have been recorded
Even with documents there is an issue, if not really a major problem.
We read in new books that the documents were written from the perspective of the ruler and historians were biased.
Not to mention the new feminist and minority rejection of history as being the product of men, almost entirely and white, most of the time
- They made the history and they recorded whatever they felt like
This is a radical view and I am not aware of how much traction this thinking has and how it will impact the books of the future.
Claudius started as a reasonable, wise leader, trying to reduce the effect of the catastrophic decisions of the late Caligula.
Caligula is known for his cruelty, but his financial excesses have been just as disastrous, nearly ruining the empire.
Claudius resorts to using statues, decorations and other lavish ornaments to make coins from the gold and silver wasted on extravagant tastes.
The new emperor takes some correct administrative decisions, one of which was to establish a new port.
Here he clashed with some advisors that pointed out the huge cost of the construction, estimated at some ten million, which would run to many billions surely in today’s coinage…
- You receive bribes from those interested to see this project cancelled
- But it will move forward, for we need a security, food will come into Rome in this way and there would be no more famine
A military incursion into Britain makes Claudius use his studies of history and especially tactics, when he uses a “cunning plan”, in the first place rejected by his commanders.
He proves to be an inspired leader, when he talks to the soldiers and uses humor:
- Predecessors called this unit the slowest, but also the surest…
Perhaps the gravest mistake that Claudius “The God” makes is to marry Messalina, even if I am wrong and now consider that a later decision to not just take his niece as fourth wife, but to adopt her son, Nero.
We all know what Nero meant for the empire, as well as the debauchery manifested by Messalina, with her infamous contest.
In the play, Claudius is portrayed as in love with Messalina and incapable to believe her evil and ready to plot against him, at least until irrefutable evidence is presented.
The emperor accepts all sorts of outrageous propositions from his wacko wife, including the one to divorce her for a while and let her marry his enemy!!
Perhaps all this is overblown, given the aforementioned fact that history is told by men who distort facts-sometimes, often?-and the epitome of a scandalous, abhorrent wife was actually a sweet, if nymphomaniac spouse?
- Who knows?
Nero however would turn out to be competing with Caligula for the worst emperor in Roman times, if again data is not distorted.
Legendary work
It is a BBC adaptation that I am discussing here and not the original.
If I, Claudius appears as rated, commented and read twice, it is because that’s what happened, albeit the second time it was an adaptation.
Claudius becomes not just the emperor, but also a God as the title suggests, in spite of his republican convictions.
Well, at least until he became the most powerful man in the world and changed his views to a certain degree.
When he was instated, we must say it was against his will, for he had been a scholar, satisfied with life in a library, more or less.
But the killing of Caligula, notwithstanding its necessity, opened the door for opportunists and the outlook was grim.
Herod, king of Judea has a talk with Claudius and makes a few strong points in favor of accepting the title:
- If you don’t become emperor, others will fight for the power and hell will break loose
I guess it is not what Claudius said, but that is one of the points:
- How much is hard work and research of historical documents and what is artistic license?
- Obviously the dialogue is a product of imagination, but some facts have been recorded
Even with documents there is an issue, if not really a major problem.
We read in new books that the documents were written from the perspective of the ruler and historians were biased.
Not to mention the new feminist and minority rejection of history as being the product of men, almost entirely and white, most of the time
- They made the history and they recorded whatever they felt like
This is a radical view and I am not aware of how much traction this thinking has and how it will impact the books of the future.
Claudius started as a reasonable, wise leader, trying to reduce the effect of the catastrophic decisions of the late Caligula.
Caligula is known for his cruelty, but his financial excesses have been just as disastrous, nearly ruining the empire.
Claudius resorts to using statues, decorations and other lavish ornaments to make coins from the gold and silver wasted on extravagant tastes.
The new emperor takes some correct administrative decisions, one of which was to establish a new port.
Here he clashed with some advisors that pointed out the huge cost of the construction, estimated at some ten million, which would run to many billions surely in today’s coinage…
- You receive bribes from those interested to see this project cancelled
- But it will move forward, for we need a security, food will come into Rome in this way and there would be no more famine
A military incursion into Britain makes Claudius use his studies of history and especially tactics, when he uses a “cunning plan”, in the first place rejected by his commanders.
He proves to be an inspired leader, when he talks to the soldiers and uses humor:
- Predecessors called this unit the slowest, but also the surest…
Perhaps the gravest mistake that Claudius “The God” makes is to marry Messalina, even if I am wrong and now consider that a later decision to not just take his niece as fourth wife, but to adopt her son, Nero.
We all know what Nero meant for the empire, as well as the debauchery manifested by Messalina, with her infamous contest.
In the play, Claudius is portrayed as in love with Messalina and incapable to believe her evil and ready to plot against him, at least until irrefutable evidence is presented.
The emperor accepts all sorts of outrageous propositions from his wacko wife, including the one to divorce her for a while and let her marry his enemy!!
Perhaps all this is overblown, given the aforementioned fact that history is told by men who distort facts-sometimes, often?-and the epitome of a scandalous, abhorrent wife was actually a sweet, if nymphomaniac spouse?
- Who knows?
Nero however would turn out to be competing with Caligula for the worst emperor in Roman times, if again data is not distorted.
April 23, 2022
This is not the first time I've read this book. I first read it in my mid teens, after seeing the magnificent TV adaptation and falling hopelessly in love with the stuttering, bumbling titular hero. Reading it again many years later feels like meeting an old friend and having a lengthy catch-up session.
By today's standards, there's a lot of "telling" and "info-dumping" but I'm fine with that. It's a far-reaching, multi-generational story of family rivalries, political intrigues, murder, wars and even civil engineering! I can unashamedly say that it is the inspiration behind some of my own novels and indeed I recognise elements of it in works by some of my favourite authors.
I have a soft spot for the underdog, the misfit, the one shunned by polite society. I realise I'm not alone in this and that's probably what endears most people to poor old Claudius.
There's a certain irony running through this book. Claudius is a staunch Republican (not in the modern American sense, but in the anti-monarchical sense) and what happens to him at the end of the first book goes against his views, but he is forced with great reluctance into becoming Emperor. He makes a far better ruler than many of his predecessors, thus defeating his own objective in abolishing the monarchy. Yet another cruel joke heaped upon him.
The depth of detail allows the reader to become fully immersed in Ancient Rome and the cultures of other nations in power during those times. It's a fascinating work and I still love it as much as I did when I first read it.
By today's standards, there's a lot of "telling" and "info-dumping" but I'm fine with that. It's a far-reaching, multi-generational story of family rivalries, political intrigues, murder, wars and even civil engineering! I can unashamedly say that it is the inspiration behind some of my own novels and indeed I recognise elements of it in works by some of my favourite authors.
I have a soft spot for the underdog, the misfit, the one shunned by polite society. I realise I'm not alone in this and that's probably what endears most people to poor old Claudius.
There's a certain irony running through this book. Claudius is a staunch Republican (not in the modern American sense, but in the anti-monarchical sense) and what happens to him at the end of the first book goes against his views, but he is forced with great reluctance into becoming Emperor. He makes a far better ruler than many of his predecessors, thus defeating his own objective in abolishing the monarchy. Yet another cruel joke heaped upon him.
The depth of detail allows the reader to become fully immersed in Ancient Rome and the cultures of other nations in power during those times. It's a fascinating work and I still love it as much as I did when I first read it.
September 10, 2023
I first encountered Claudius in paperback when PBS ran the British series. It was impossible to ignore. I read both books by Robert Graves, but I have to say that at the time my knowledge of Rome and its history was extremely limited. Fast forward a few decades, toss in a lot more knowledge of Rome and a return visit to Emperor Claudius via the audio versions of Graves' books. The experience is even more interesting and amazing.
When I started connecting the dots of the history I had learned with the tales Claudius tells, I gained an entirely different understanding.
The first person account of encounters with historical names and places brings both the people and the history to life. Some of it terrifying. Some of it mundane.
Claudius survived a family that pretty much killed off anyone who got in the way. His journey was one of learning to keep out of sight while in plain sight (confusing, yes, but infinitely necessary). He lived in interesting times among interesting people and in places that we can only see in ruins.
The books are not for those who like their history cleaned up and tidy. History has never been either. I would like to suggest that the reader have more than a tendril of knowledge of the subject matter but in the end I'm not sure it would matter. If Claudius' story captivates enough, it could lead you into an entirely new rabbit hole.
When I started connecting the dots of the history I had learned with the tales Claudius tells, I gained an entirely different understanding.
The first person account of encounters with historical names and places brings both the people and the history to life. Some of it terrifying. Some of it mundane.
Claudius survived a family that pretty much killed off anyone who got in the way. His journey was one of learning to keep out of sight while in plain sight (confusing, yes, but infinitely necessary). He lived in interesting times among interesting people and in places that we can only see in ruins.
The books are not for those who like their history cleaned up and tidy. History has never been either. I would like to suggest that the reader have more than a tendril of knowledge of the subject matter but in the end I'm not sure it would matter. If Claudius' story captivates enough, it could lead you into an entirely new rabbit hole.
December 5, 2013
I, Claudius was one of my most riveting reads of the year. Reading on to Claudius the God just as fast as I could was a no-brainer - and if it disappoints at all, it's only in comparison to its nigh-on perfect predecessor. Claudius the God provides just as scintillating a look into Claudius's reign as the previous book did into Augustus's, Tiberias's, and Caligula's. But it's also a more ponderous journey, and the exploration of the Empire as a whole does pale in comparison to the lively soap operas of Claudius's immediate family, as found more prominently in the first book. Still, this is historical fiction at its finest and absolutely worth the read.
April 18, 2020
An almost unbelievable story (well, it's more fiction than fact). I cannot count how many times I've read the book and saw the television series.
September 5, 2016
This is a combined review for the audiobook editions of both "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God" by Robert Graves.
Like so many others, I was drawn to these books after watching the 1976 PBS adaption which enthralled and intrigued me. This was my first foray into Roman history and I've never been the same since. That said, for those (like me) comparing Jack Pulman's screenplay to the actual book will be both impressed and disgusted. Mr. Pulman certainly got all the plot points but in the process of doing do took some curious "liberties" with both the source material and (I've come to find out) history itself. I won't disappoint the reader by revealing of to what exactly I'm referring - better if you ferret it out yourself, I think.
So how are the books, you may ask? Simply amazing. I know it's a cliche' but the books are most definitely better than the movie. And Derek Jacobi's reading is just as inspired and delightful as his screen performance was as Claudius in the PBS mini-series. I enjoyed them both immensely and will, no doubt, be taking another trip through them both again.
Finally I am a Christian, and as a final note to my fellow believers I encourage these books and/or the PBS television series for no other reason than to put the New Testament in historical context from the Roman side. I think you'll find, as I did, your depth, breadth, and understanding of the Gospels, Book of Acts, and the epistles exploding as you work through Mr. Grave's fine research and writing.
Highest recommendation. These books are classics!
Like so many others, I was drawn to these books after watching the 1976 PBS adaption which enthralled and intrigued me. This was my first foray into Roman history and I've never been the same since. That said, for those (like me) comparing Jack Pulman's screenplay to the actual book will be both impressed and disgusted. Mr. Pulman certainly got all the plot points but in the process of doing do took some curious "liberties" with both the source material and (I've come to find out) history itself. I won't disappoint the reader by revealing of to what exactly I'm referring - better if you ferret it out yourself, I think.
So how are the books, you may ask? Simply amazing. I know it's a cliche' but the books are most definitely better than the movie. And Derek Jacobi's reading is just as inspired and delightful as his screen performance was as Claudius in the PBS mini-series. I enjoyed them both immensely and will, no doubt, be taking another trip through them both again.
Finally I am a Christian, and as a final note to my fellow believers I encourage these books and/or the PBS television series for no other reason than to put the New Testament in historical context from the Roman side. I think you'll find, as I did, your depth, breadth, and understanding of the Gospels, Book of Acts, and the epistles exploding as you work through Mr. Grave's fine research and writing.
Highest recommendation. These books are classics!
April 4, 2011
Haven't yet read Claudius The God pending a reread of I, Claudius this summer to refresh my memory on the particulars. I, Claudius is one of my all-time favorites. Rich, detailed, historic and accurately melodramatic. To this day I revere and aspire to emulate Livia, vile though she may be. Such a driven and successful woman undergirding the power of the empire and fiercely pursuing the interests of herself and her family... I've rarely seen so strong a female lead, which is to say such an honest portrayal of a woman in power. The BBC mini series from the 70s is a must see. Sian Phillips is amazing as Livia. Derek Jacobi (Judi Dench's brother!) does very well as Claudius.
June 2, 2008
While Graves' King Jesus was most provocative, his two Claudius novels were the most fun of his literary treatments of the ancient world. Viewers who enjoyed the BBC series will enjoy the novels even more than the film. Readers of the two novels will be interested to see how they were translated to the screen.
February 7, 2009
Just finished I, Claudius yesterday 2-5-09 for Classix. Have always wanted to read this but never got to it. Now I'm inspired to rewatch the old PBS series too. Plus I haven't read Claudius the God yet, but will put it on my list. I really enjoyed reading and learning again about ancient Rome. It must have been horrible to live with those wicked men ruling though.
February 26, 2017
Absolutely fantastic! The author did not only manage to describe what happened in his life and what he accomplished. He also managed to describe why he acted as he did in different situations, what choices he had and what he could have done different. He really gives the readers a good insight into the culture and mentality of his society. Prepare for a historical journey!
September 16, 2016
I greatly enjoyed this book - it was very interesting and really well written...:) I learned a lot about the history and culture of Rome and at the same time I greatly admired the subtle sense of humour of the author! :) Two thumbs up! :)
April 8, 2008
Murder, backstabbing politics, infanticide - Good summer reading. LOL
January 22, 2011
Total soap operas. Awesome.
March 8, 2014
Good book. Well written. Holds your attention. Some of the historical facts can be debatable. Makes it interesting to watch this on Masterpiece Theatre.
December 30, 2016
One of the very best works of historical fiction, this is just great.
December 27, 2019
Fascinating book about the Roman Empire but in a distinctly British voice. Everyone should read these books.
April 8, 2020
Väldigt bra men man måste verkligen gilla antiken
July 21, 2025
I have spent years trying to master Latin. It's the major language component of the Bachelor of Languages degree that I began (on a part-time basis) nearly 6 years ago. I'm very comfortable reading fiction in French and Italian, but despite all my dogged application a page of Latin remains a slog to read, and without access to a translation I'm as likely as not to misunderstand its import. I don't read Latin, I 'parse' it and count myself fortunate if I derive some sense from it. It's a deeply frustrating language, and but for the pleasure of sharing this seemingly fruitless pursuit with so many other hapless strivers I don't think I could have continued. It is apparent that Graves reads Latin as he reads English. In the introduction to Claudius the God he names 27 classical authors he has consulted (some in Greek) in the writing of it. I imagine the young Graves immersed in Greek and Latin almost from infancy, otherwise how can he be so proficient?
These two volumes encompass most of what has survived of what was recorded about a certain period of Roman imperial history, the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. Graves' Claudius is a well-informed but impotent observer in the first book, then master of events for much of the second. The novels are very rich in historic detail, to such an extent that I think Graves' assumed audience must be constituted of people already quite familiar with the matter. He shapes a welter of material into a coherent, if complex, narrative. It's very well done, but must be daunting for the uninitiated.
One reservation I have is that so much of the Roman writings that have survived is political propaganda, and deeply suspect. Was Messalina really as bad as she is made out to be? Without contradictory evidence, that's the story Graves is obliged to tell if he is to be faithful to the documents. In fiction one can't discuss sources then conclude that we cannot know. Fiction is a story, not a treatise on sources.
Claudius the republican and reluctant emperor spends much of his reign mending the damage and neglect of his predecessors, particularly Caligula. Claudius the God is mainly an account of the business of government - legislation, administration of law, engineering projects, military campaigns, et al. - and rather dry stuff because of it. Messalina's betrayal and the apparent impossibility of restoring the Republic make Claudius cynical. He decides that if he is 'King Log,' a harmless monarch mocked by the frogs, then he will set up Nero as 'King Stork' and let the frogs see how fortunate they had been. I suspect that Graves is allowing himself some license with this striking idea. It seems implausible that there is any documentary support for it, but it has a satisfying quality as fiction.
These two volumes encompass most of what has survived of what was recorded about a certain period of Roman imperial history, the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. Graves' Claudius is a well-informed but impotent observer in the first book, then master of events for much of the second. The novels are very rich in historic detail, to such an extent that I think Graves' assumed audience must be constituted of people already quite familiar with the matter. He shapes a welter of material into a coherent, if complex, narrative. It's very well done, but must be daunting for the uninitiated.
One reservation I have is that so much of the Roman writings that have survived is political propaganda, and deeply suspect. Was Messalina really as bad as she is made out to be? Without contradictory evidence, that's the story Graves is obliged to tell if he is to be faithful to the documents. In fiction one can't discuss sources then conclude that we cannot know. Fiction is a story, not a treatise on sources.
Claudius the republican and reluctant emperor spends much of his reign mending the damage and neglect of his predecessors, particularly Caligula. Claudius the God is mainly an account of the business of government - legislation, administration of law, engineering projects, military campaigns, et al. - and rather dry stuff because of it. Messalina's betrayal and the apparent impossibility of restoring the Republic make Claudius cynical. He decides that if he is 'King Log,' a harmless monarch mocked by the frogs, then he will set up Nero as 'King Stork' and let the frogs see how fortunate they had been. I suspect that Graves is allowing himself some license with this striking idea. It seems implausible that there is any documentary support for it, but it has a satisfying quality as fiction.
February 25, 2026
Claudius The God is an excellent follow-up book of I, Claudius.
It propels the unlikely character that Claudius is to the Emperorship, where he attempts to be a benevolent ruler. He succeeds in doing so on many fronts, but is undermined by his corrupt wife, Messalina.
The book is a comedic overview of courtly and daily Roman life during the Empire, and manages to paint an interesting picture of both the situation in Germania, Britain and the Middle East. The author's strength lay in the roleplaying element that he brings forth to Claudius - who doesn't take himself serious - and who gently glides to his own end.
The book gives an interesting political, military and day-to-day insight of Roman history. At times, the book does feel 'dragged out', by too much historical hither-dither, but finally it does manage to paint a lovely and enjoyable picture of the Emperorship of Claudius 'The Good'.
Recommended!
It propels the unlikely character that Claudius is to the Emperorship, where he attempts to be a benevolent ruler. He succeeds in doing so on many fronts, but is undermined by his corrupt wife, Messalina.
The book is a comedic overview of courtly and daily Roman life during the Empire, and manages to paint an interesting picture of both the situation in Germania, Britain and the Middle East. The author's strength lay in the roleplaying element that he brings forth to Claudius - who doesn't take himself serious - and who gently glides to his own end.
The book gives an interesting political, military and day-to-day insight of Roman history. At times, the book does feel 'dragged out', by too much historical hither-dither, but finally it does manage to paint a lovely and enjoyable picture of the Emperorship of Claudius 'The Good'.
Recommended!
September 24, 2026
I watched the PBS series on this book when I was back in high school and found it to be a fascinating story. I listened to the book on audio and it reminded me of the show. The story is very interesting. The narrator of the story is Claudius. He is related to Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. Claudius has a stammer and this leads his family and others to consider him to be an "idiot." As a result, Claudius is left alone among the many plots and murders and more that take place among the royal family. Claudius considers himself to be a historian. The story is his attempt to tell the truth about the royal family. He writes about Augustus's reign as well as that of Tiberius and Caligula, explaining how each of them came to be emperor and why they were eventually killed. The final part of the book takes place when Claudius becomes emperor after Caligula is murdered. Robert Graves fictional account of the first four Roman emperors is amusing at times and horrible at others. I really enjoyed this book and was glad to listen to this story once again, 50 years later.
October 24, 2026
I had read "I Claudius" some 20 years ago and re-watching the TV series prompted me to reread that, and follow it up with "Claudius The God". Both are knockouts but I was amazed to find that "Claudius The God" was even more gripping. If you want an education into old Rome read that book! Grave's come-to-life presentation of the goings on of Caligula, Claudius, Messalina, and the rest of the crazy characters is incomparable. The violence, the extreme contrasts, the ridiculous escapades and campaigns...they really should do a series around "Claudius The God". Put it on your list pronto!
April 15, 2026
Had to make the women the villains, naturally. Though Caligula was even worse. Very fun read. If you were willing to read the GoT prequels, this is like that but based on Roman history and a more humorous narrator
May 29, 2025
These 2 novels an epic of incredible proportions. The writing style is so unique and I definitely will read again.
January 10, 2026
Not as good as the first, but worth the read. Not as stable story line as the first part. Ending was incomplete and rushed
March 12, 2026
A portrait of power seen through the eyes of someone everyone underestimates.
Graves reminds us that history is often written by those who survive long enough to observe it.
Graves reminds us that history is often written by those who survive long enough to observe it.
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