I, Claudius

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I, Claudius

By: Robert Graves

Narrated by: Derek Jacobi

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About this listen

Here is a major new recording and the riveting account of Ancient Rome in all its madness and debauchery.

The politics of empire-building and the hypocrisies, back-stabbings, and corruptions of Rome's first family come to light. First published in 1934, the book retains a marvelously modern and often comic tone, and is written in the form of Claudius' autobiography. This is gripping stuff, read by one of our finest actors, who also starred as Claudius in the classic television series.

Biographical Fiction

Classics

Fiction

Genre Fiction

Literary Fiction

Biography

Ancient Rome

Rome

Ancient History

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Most relevant

If you could sum up I, Claudius in three words, what would they be?

Thrilling, fascinating, absorbing.

What other book might you compare I, Claudius to, and why?

What comparison can one make? Except to say that despite having been written 70-80 years before, I Caudius (and Claudius the God) reads as easily as any novel by the excellent Mr Robert Harris, or John Grisham or Val McDermid.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I frankly enjoyed the whole book - it's like a symphony or a concerto, one has to listen to it all, and both books at that.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

A short paragraph about Calpurnia was touching - in Claudius the God.

Any additional comments?

Based on the histories of Suetonius and Tacitus, Robert Graves has given the world two great novels covering the era of first Emperors of Rome.
Although the books are very good reads off the written page, in Audio, Derek Jacobi further breaths a rich vitality to the tale, his voice conveying young and old, women and men with equal east and no artifice.
The only two reproaches, this was an abridged version (which I knew, but wanted the Jacobi narration) and I would have preferred the whole text. Secondly, the Vivaldi interludes were not appropriate in my opinion. A trumpet fanfare as in the excellent and seminal BBC TV dramatisation would have been super.