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Count Belisarius cover art

Count Belisarius

By: Robert Graves
Narrated by: Laurence Kennedy
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Summary

The sixth-century Roman Empire is a dangerous place, threatened on all frontiers by invaders. But soon the attacking armies of Vandals, Goths, and Persians grow to fear and respect the name of one man, Belisarius: horseman, archer, swordsman, and military commander of genius. As Belisarius triumphs in battles from the East to North Africa, his success causes him to become regarded with increasing jealousy and suspicion. In his palace in Constantinople, the Emperor Justinian, dominated by his wife Theodora, plots the great general’s downfall. Written in the form of a biography by Belisarius’ manservant, this epic historical novel portrays him as a lone man of honour in a corrupt world.

Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895-7 December 1985) was an English poet and novelist, scholar, translator, and writer of antiquity, specialising in Classical Greece and Rome. During his long life he produced more than 140 works. Graves's translations and innovative analysis and interpretations of the Greek myths, the memoir of his early life, Good-Bye to All That, and his speculative study of poetic inspiration, The White Goddess, have never been out of print. Graves earned his living by writing popular historical novels, including I, Claudius (for which he was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize), King Jesus, The Golden Fleece, and Count Belisarius. He was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1961 and made an honorary fellow of St John’s College, Oxford, in 1971.

©1938 Robert Graves (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Critic reviews

"Among the most generous, self-willed, unseemly and brilliant writers of our century." (New York Times)
"And so Count Belisarius continues, with one dazzling set-piece after another, effortlessly carrying us back over 1500 years, bringing back to life a whole company of men and women before our eyes.… Winston Churchill told Graves that he could not put it down; nor, I am delighted to confess, could I." (John Julius Norwich, historian)

What listeners say about Count Belisarius

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    5 out of 5 stars

A Hero Maligned (in so many ways)

It's very irritating when the actor reading doesn't understand the pronunciation of historical names and places, namely Latin in this case. Other than that the story is performed beautifully and the reader's voice is just perfect.

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12 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story. Dodgy telling of.

Terrible pronunciation of many things but the most unforgivable one was 'Baliserius' instead of the proper 'Belisarius'. Got worse as the we got more in to the book.

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7 people found this helpful

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Better than the book

Sometimes it’s better to hear an great reading of a book than read it yourself: this is one of those occasions. Twice I’ve tried to read this book, being interested in the late Roman Empire, and twice I failed. But Mr Kennedy’s narration is so mellifluous and spellbinding that I binge listened to the whole book in a few days.

Some reviews have quibbled over the narrator’s pronunciation of foreign words but in general I found him better than most.

I heartily recommend this production.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Gave up.

Limited characterisation or atmosphere . Narrator’s pronunciations and intimation are more suitable for tales of the British Empire particularly The Raj.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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A somewhat tedious lecture

While the story in itself is very good, the narration is more akin to a lecturer reading verbatim from an essay than someone telling a story. Quite often, you can clearly sense when a conversation or sentence carries on to a new page, by the unnatural pauses in the narration.
It's a good book, but I recommend you read it yourself, at least the first time.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Superb

Loved it from start to finish, excellent narration throughout. Robert Graves, first class soldier and prolific author. Will get the rest of his 140 works. Thoroughly recommend.

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  • Overall
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Exceptional

A brilliant narration of a really great book. It’s long but worth every second of your time.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent work unknown to me

I am a great fan of the works ok f Robert Graves but this was an unknown book to me. I recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed his more famous works I Claudius or Claudius the God with no reservation at all.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

perhaps not his best, but still great story

really enjoyed this historical novel. Interesting characters, time. I wasn't looking forward to the final chapter because I knew what happens in the end. But actually I found the conclusion about the nature of Faith rather profound.

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  • Overall
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  • mr
  • 25-09-20

A fascinating tale of Byzantium.

Robert Graves delivers another engrossing tale of warfare and Intrigue in a similar but more amusing vein to I Claudius. Also set in the Roman empire. but tjistimrhundreds of years later. when only the eastern empire remains. Read in a sprightly manner by Laurence Kennedy.

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