- Paperback: 443 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd., Harmondsworth U.K.; Reprinted 1977 edition (28 Jun 1977)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140004211
- ISBN-13: 978-0140004212
- Product Dimensions: 19.7 x 12.9 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 225,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Défraîchi, traces d'usage mais sinon ok.Expédition rapide de votre commande avec protection soignée de vos articles.Professionnel de la vente à distance.Professional on e-business.Fast delivery of your order.Item very well packed(réf 45)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was an excellent book to read. The only problems that I found were those which are common to many of the older paperback publications. 1. The inner margins were too small which limits the ease of reading at the edge of the pages. 2. On a nuimber of parts the type used is too small (no doubt to save on the number of pages), this was particularly noticeable where Claudius had received letters from other people. These comments apart though it is an excellent, and necessary follow up to I Claudius.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I went straight on to this after finishing off I Claudius in 3 days (fitted around work) and I was disappointed. It is good but pales by comparison with the earlier work.
It was difficult to wade through some of the stuff about Herod Agrippa and there were far too many asides about Druids or Religious Ceremonies or the Senate trials. While they do show Claudius's character such asides would constitue serious padding in a modern novel.
But of course this isn't a modern novel - it is almost an historical document in itself - showing a different pace, a different way of writing.
It was difficult to wade through some of the stuff about Herod Agrippa and there were far too many asides about Druids or Religious Ceremonies or the Senate trials. While they do show Claudius's character such asides would constitue serious padding in a modern novel.
But of course this isn't a modern novel - it is almost an historical document in itself - showing a different pace, a different way of writing.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'Claudius the God' is actually part two of a two-part set, the second volume after the much-better-known 'I, Claudius'. The story is set in Rome at the time of the institution of Augustus, the first emperor, up to the accession of Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudian line of emperors (after this time, the imperial seat was more of a political prize to be fought for than a family bequest).
Robert Graves intriguing use of the vernacular language and the extensive research, following largely the histories of Suetonius (a gossipy historian) rather than Tacitus (the formal, more official historian), gives a rather racy and juicy insight into the flamboyant lifestyle of the early imperial family, as seen through the eyes primarily of its most unlikely heir, Claudius the stammerer. Claudius escaped much of the political intrigue and was seen as a harmless outsider due to his physical impediments, which helped mask his intellectual capabilities and cunning insight into the actions of others.
Grave's recreation is well-done, but a bit too sympathetic to his hero Claudius. Claudius was not the intellectual saintly character protrayed in theses novels--true, he wasn't nearly as bad as his predecessor Caligula or his successor Nero, but he had shortcomings that are often ignored for lacking the glamour of the evils of the two emperors who bookend his reign.
Graves' use of language is interesting to note. Instead of translating historical scenes into formal, high-academic English (as a classically-trained Oxbridge scholar might be inclined to do), he put things into what Alistair Cook called the everyday language of the English aristocracy, a social class accustomed to the easy exercise of world-domination power, politically and socially. This makes it an engaging work that avoids the pitfalls of academic histories.
This particular volume looks at the later part of Claudius' life, concluding with the time when he was emperor. The intrigues that had carried on in the royal family continued unabated around him as emperor, except that the wise and almost omniscient Claudius of old seemed to develop blind spots once in the imperial seat, largely due to love. When his wife Messalina finally plots his overthrow with a divorce, he acts, and his life is rather sorrowful ever after.
Derek Jacobi's performance in the BBC production is stunning; what the novel leaves out in way of historical accuracy to detail (Claudius was married more times than would Graves' books attest, for instance) it more than makes up for by way of being an entertaining introduction to imperial Rome. Make sure to get both volumes!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
prompt and good value
A book I had read and throughly enjoyed as a boy back in the mists of time - not quite in the age of Rome - but further back than I care to remember. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Hugh Maloney
Claudius The God. Robert Graves - Historic fiction at its best
Why bother going to the trouble of inventing a decent plot and characters when history has already done it for you? Read more
Published 16 months ago by Victor
Splendid stuff, but curses on the anachronisms!
A rich sequel to the magnificent I, Claudius. This is historical fiction of a type that is almost non-fiction and the style is instantly recognisable to anyone who has read... Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2008 by John Hopper
"I have been as deaf and blind and wooden as a log."
Continuing the story of _I, Claudius_, which ends with his unexpected acclamation as Emperor of Rome, Robert Graves focuses less here on the genealogy and history of Claudius's... Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2006 by Mary Whipple
a brilliant sequel to I, Claudius
This book had a lot to live up to in my eyes, as it folllowed such a excellant book as I, Claudius. I was not disappointed - i couldn't put the book down. Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2001 by Sophie Arrowsmith (arrowsmith.boot@tinyworld.co.uk)
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