Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina | Robert Graves

Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina | Robert Graves | Good Follow-up to My Favorite All-time Book

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Claudius the God: ...

	Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina Robert Graves Vintage, 1989 - 544 pages average customer review:based on 40 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Robert Graves begins anew the tumultuous life of the Roman who became emporer in spite of himself. Captures the vitality, splendor, and decadence of the Roman world at the point of its decline.

At least as great as "I, Claudius"

I wouldn't recommend reading this work without its predecessor, which also deserves (and has duly received) many five-star reviews. If you loved "I, Claudius," you should definitely read this second part, which also abounds with larger-than-life characters, endless webs of plotting and scheming, and Robert Graves' narrative brilliance. But I wouldn't think of the two works as forming one big novel in two parts. "Claudius the God" is a very different work, and maybe even a better novel than "I, Claudius." Though longer in length, it covers fewer events: don't expect the same breathless succession of bloody twists and turns.

The BBC series dedicated fewer than a fourth of the episodes to this book, and for good reason: "Claudius the God" is chiefly concerned with the emperor's approach to the challenges of ruling the empire, and Robert Graves takes his time with this task. Slowing down from the intrigue-driven rhythm of "I, Claudius," Robert Graves beautifully conveys the fatality of Claudius' journey, from the excitement of his early idealistic days as a ruler bent on restoring the Republic to the last years of his reign. The book is full of nuanced emotion and even contains some surprisingly lyrical passages, which would have been quite out-of-place in its predecessor. The last few chapters are beautiful and tragic, in a way "I, Claudius" never attempts to be, as the old emperor comes face-to-face with the immutable fate of Rome and the absurdity of his own role as Caesar. Seen as a true tragedy, this novel is a real success.

Other cool elements include a brilliantly paced glance at early Christianity from Claudius' perspective, and the unpredictable and fascinating character of Herod Agrippa. Though much more complex and likeable, he electrifies (and occasionally dominates) the story as powerfully as Livia does in "I, Claudius." Messalina adds further spice, intrigue (more sexual, less bloody, than Livia), and an unexpected touch of pathos to the book. This novel is also much richer than its predecessor in its evocation of political and military maneuvers, since the management of the empire is the central foundation of the plot.

Overall, both books are brilliant. But if "I, Claudius" is lots of fun (more fun, technically speaking, I suppose, than "Claudius the God"), this book raises more questions, develops more themes, and ultimately tells a much richer story: the tragic story of what boundless power does to a man who never wanted it.

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Good Follow-up to My Favorite All-time Book

This book is the sequel to "I Claudius" which is my all-time favorite book. Though not quite up to that first book in intrigue and overall flow, it is still a great book in its own right.

There is a lot of rich descriptions of battles undertaken by the now Emperor Claudius that stretch for many pages. Also, Claudius has to deal with the betrayal of his friend Herod as well as his scheming wife Messalina (along with her debaucheries) while Claudius' advisor Pallus is also trying to usurp him.

Claudius' grand scheme to eliminate the monarchy and restore the Republic spawns the evil Nero (though he is not quite as evil as Caligula). Should not be missed!

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Absolutely brilliant!

I Claudius and its sequel Claudius the God are I think some of the most brilliant historical novels that I've read: informative, gripping, done with just the right flavour of setting and intentionality thrown in.

I also think they've been a bit underrated - I would say Claudius the God is at least as good as I Claudius. However the two books serve different purposes. Whilst the first describes the machinations and cruelties of the Caesars from the outside, this book does it brilliantly from within. You need to read one to appreciate the other and it is together that they present a cogent worldview. This novel makes us sympathise and empathise with Claudius but it undeniably also makes us see that from a certain perspective there is no essential difference between an "enlightened" autocrat like Claudius and a mad "tyrant" like Caligula.

Graves recreates the setting wonderfully: not only in terms of historical fact but we can see how the society influenced even a "benevolent" one like Claudius to do some hairy things. And it all reads like the most colourful fairy tale despite its historical accuracy, because both in content and presentation this novel is amazing.

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An Enduring & Engaging Historical Yarn

Being neither particularly well read nor well versed in history, I came to this work after listening to an audio tape of "I, Claudius." I had never heard of Robert Graves before, but found both books well-written and entertaining. Not wishing to repeat what has already been noted in the longer reviews posted here, I offer a few observations that may be of interest to those considering reading Claudius The God:

First, Graves is an exceptionally good story teller. Speaking through the character of Claudius, Graves weaves an abundance of minor tales, presumably based on historical sources, through the major story line. Some of these minor tales provide added details that support the characters and plot development, and some serve as pure diversions. But nearly all are crisply told, many are humorous or tragic, and many contain surprising historical details. Gratuitous physical descriptions of scenes and characters were refreshingly absent; these are sparkling tales that might be swapped over the water-cooler. Overall the storytelling style is a bit reminiscent of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, although not quite as masterful.

Second, Claudius alludes to events and characters from the birth of Christianity in a way that smells of a pro-Christian bias. There's nothing wrong with having a pro-Christian bias, but Claudius would not have had one, and so the narrator's credibility is undermined slightly. These allusions are sparse and the bias subtle, so the overall impact is not too distracting. Perhaps in the same vein, the description of events, attitudes and mores of the characters will not leave the reader nostalgic for the Roman Empire, nor admiring of the main character. There is certainly no pro-pagan bias operating here. Claudius is presented in a sympathetic way, but in the end does not behave heroically. Such are the demands of history.

Third, the writing style is not as compressed as we are used to with most modern authors, whom adhere more closely to the Elements of Style. Graves' style is a bit antiquated in ways probably not intended to convey a Claudian voice. For example, sentences were sometimes longer than necessary and hard to follow. Given the age of the work and its many strong points, this stylistic weakness can be readily forgiven.

If you like historical fiction, try Robert Graves. If you are like me, you will be both entertained and educated.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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