Product Description

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.

Amazon.com Review

Picking up where the extraordinarily interesting I, Claudius ends, Claudius the God tells the tale of Claudius' 13-year reign as Emperor of Rome. Naturally, it ends when Claudius is murdered--believe me, it's not giving anything away to say this; the surprise is when someone doesn't get poisoned. While Claudius spends most of his time before becoming emperor tending to his books and his writings and trying to stay out of the general line of corruption and killings, his life on the throne puts him into the center of the political maelstrom.

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Good Book        Rating:

Claudius the God is good - I would recommend it to anyone - but it is not as good as the first book, 'I, Claudius'

...only three comments        Rating:

Although I can't say enough about how great this novel is, I'll limit myself to three comments:

1. Along with I, Claudius, perhaps one of the greatest historical novels written in the English language that also passes muster as serious literature- both humorous and poignant at turns; thoroughly researched, based on all historical writings available to Graves at the time.

2. I absolutely recommend you read I, Claudius first. Much of what is implied in Claudius the God is from the first novel-it will also make the payoff of Claudius the God that much sweeter.

3. It's a dense read, and you may find the first 100 pages confusing, but don't give up until you reach pg. 252 in the Vintage International edition, or Chapter 16 which starts "Britain lies in a northerly position... From that point, the novel becomes a virtual page turner, hard to put down, and Grave's genius as both a writer and historian were reaffirmed to me.

An Enduring & Engaging Historical Yarn        Rating:

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.

Good Follow-up to My Favorite All-time Book        Rating:

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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