I, Claudius by Robert Graves

Sandra's note:  Hey!  Ernie is getting way ahead of me on his reading list - here is another book he has finished due to all the traveling he does.  If someone would send me on a trip maybe I could finish The Naked and the Dead!  It is coming up next week, for sure.

I must admit that when I saw I, Claudius on the list, I dreaded reading it.  It seemed to say “dry and dull” in the title alone.  Or perhaps “pompous and pretentious” would be more accurate.  Who would dare write an emperor’s autobiography?  And who would want to read a book like this?  Well, here are my suggestions… Anyone who loves history, anyyone who loves “Desperate Housewives,” anyone who loves mysteries, anyone who wants to know why Caligula was such a bastard and anyone who loves to read.  I, Claudius has something for everyone.

I, Claudius is the story of Claudius, the fourth Emperor of Rome, a real person shrouded by mystery and intrigue throughout his life.  Historians write that he was handicapped by lameness and deafness from an early age.  (Graves gives him a stutter as well.)  The Romans saw him as cursed and so Claudius’ family had little to do with him even into adulthood.  This attitude may be what saved his life throughout decades of intrigue and power struggles and ultimately led him to the throne.  I, Claudius takes the reader from Claudius’ birth to his being named Emperor upon Caligula’s assassination.

Robert Graves was a poet and historian who, after translating numerous histories and poems relating to Claudius and his family, wrote this “autobiography.”  Claudius, a historian himself, supposedly wrote his own history but it has been long lost.

Ernie visits Rome with the band in 1977 
(not his rock band, his school band!)

Graves give Claudius voice as an Emperor who isn’t quite sure how he gained the throne.  He speaks of true friendships, lost love, the sharp cut of treachery and the joy of eating good food.  Claudius is the tour guide who is willing to share the family secrets.  And what secrets there are…I, Claudius makes ”Dynasty” look like “The Donna Reed Show.”  Murder, betrayal, forced marriages, forced divorces, banishment are all commonplace in Claudius’ family as they struggle to maintain power.  Yet Claudius never hungers for that power.  That is what makes him a believable character and I, Claudius such a compelling book. 

Graves’ writing flows easily giving the reader a firm setting for every scene and crisp, witty dialogue.  I would compare his writing to that in Babbit by Sinclair Lewis.  It is a pleasure to read.  I look forward to reading Graves’ sequel Claudius the God in the near future.  (On a related note,  I want to mention a series of detective novels by Lindsey Davis set in ancient Rome.  I read a few of the novels featuring M. Didius Falco and remember them being interesting and humorous.  After I, Claudius, I want to read them again to appreciate the truly dark side of Roman politics.

I, Claudius is a great book.