BOOKS: I, Claudius

Claudius being declared emperor.

Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as "Claudius the Idiot…” Wow. I was hooked from the first sentence. I was never much for fictional biography, but Robert Graves 1934 novel, I, Claudius : From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54, is a ripping read from the very first sentence. This is a fabulous history lesson hiding inside a novel. Graves book is the novelistic equivalent of, “a spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine (I mean the history lesson) go down.” Set in 1st century Rome this fictional autobiographical memoir recounts the tribulations of the sickly and stammering emperor Claudius. Claudius was surrounded by lust, greed and intrigue. In order to avoid getting poisoned by his imperial family he acted as if he were a drooling idiot. It worked, somewhat. He manages to survive the murderous reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula and ascends to the throne to become the fourth Roman emperor, following Caligula’s assassination. Crafty like a fox he waited out the intrigue on the sidelines until he was the last male heir left. Unknown to anyone in the imperial family he was a wise and able analyst of the Roman politics that surrounded him and it showed when he took power. He proved to be an able emperor as well as a scholar and historian. Eventually, he was murdered by poisonous mushrooms, but his achievements as emperor are notable, especially in his conquest of Britain. I Claudius covers the first half of the story, his ascension to power. Graves takes these basic historical facts and spins them into a work of serious historical literature. Graves was a passionate student of antiquity and a gifted writer and it shows. I Claudius is considered one of the best novels ever written. It is an excellent introduction to the early days of Imperial Rome, an enjoyable way to learn history, an excellent read.