Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina (Vintage International)

Robert Graves returns to full form with this sequel to the book I Claudius. It follows the last days of the Emperor Claudius in ancient Rome. Claudius is be set by enemies on all sides, some of whom are in his own family, and one of whom is his wife. Well written and thoroughly researched, based upon the secondary sources, such as Plutarch.

This novel picks up where I, Claudius left off. Claudius is doing what no one, especially Claudius himself ever expected - he is ruling the Empire. He has been put into power by a completely unexpected twist of fate, and now he had to take on the challenge. In many ways Claudius turned out to be an excellent choice for Emperor, he had spent most of his life studying history, and other subjects to make him qualified to be an excellent ruler. He, unlike many of his predecessors was truly interested in the welfare of all of Rome's citizens, the proper management of the City and the Empire. He undertook many civil engineering projects to improve the lives of the City's inhabitants and also helped plan and lead a successful conquest of Britain. In many ways he was an astute and wise ruler but as he aged Claudius' own honesty and trusting nature proved his undoing. He was betrayed by friends, his wife and family and ultimately this character who the reader has come to respect and admire throughout these novels reverts to family traits and becomes as conniving and cruel as his predecessors. This portion of the novel, and it is truly the second half of the long novel begun in I, Claudius, does drag in places making this book all too easy to put down for long periods. The final chapters though do provide the ending that the first book which stopped on a cliff hanger and than an actual ending. This book takes us to the end of Claudius' life, one where we are able to see how his own carefully crafted and well meaning plans played out. Even the most casual reader of history will realize that kind and well meaning Claudius' intentions were not carried out by Nero. This

"Claudius the God" is the second of Graves' two-part story of the Roman Emperor Claudius, told in the form of an autobiography. It continues right where "I, Claudius" leaves off, at Claudius's ascendancy to Emperor following Caligula's rather bloody end. Thanks to Livia, Tiberius, and Caligula, most of the politically prominent citizens of Rome have been poisoned, exiled, or otherwise done away with when Claudius begins his reign. So things are relatively peaceful for a while. If you've read the other reviews of this book, you may get the impression that it's not near as good as the first and that you wouldn't be missing out on much by skipping it. And I guess it all comes down to your tastes. If you're looking for a story packed with intrigue and deception culminating in a triumphant ending, you won't find it in the sequel. There aren't as many loonies around anymore to laugh at. And the last few years of Claudius's reign are decidedly sobering. Yet if you like reading about history as much as I do, there's still a ton of fascinating material here to immerse yourself in. Such as a rich background on Herod Agrippa, the Jewish king who feigns friendship with Claudius while secretly fomenting rebellion. Or interesting details on the Celtic druids' rituals. And of course an account of Claudius's successful invasion of Britain. Back at home Claudius's lovely wife Messalina eventually reveals her shocking true colors, leading to a purge of Rome's corrupt nobility by Claudius. All narration is in the same style that distinguished the first book: witty, humorous, and anything but dry. At the end of the first book, I simply had to know what happened to Claudius next. So for me, this book was a necessary read and I'm pleased to say that it far surpassed the expectations I had formed upon reading many of the other reviews here. Claudius makes a heroic effort to repair the extensive damage that the mad Caligula wreaked on the Empire's finances and general well-being (such as adding ~150 holidays to the year!). He largely succeeds but only temporarily, then ultimately yields to the Empire's natural entropic tendency to fall into disorder. You may feel somewhat down after reading it, but you'll have to agree that the ride was fascinating while it lasted! Highly recommended.

I slogged through I, Claudius last year and when the "sequel" became available through a Daily Deal, I decided to slog through it just to bring my reading to Claudius' end. The writing in both books is tedious and overly detailed. I skipped chapters in Claudius the God that focused on Herod Agrippa of Jerusalem - I just didn't care about him until the narrator Claudius finally brings him into his reign as emperor of Rome. When Graves "allows" Claudius to actually tell his story, this is really good and interesting. But far too often Graves gets bogged down in minutiae about some construction project or other project that Claudius has going on. Claudius was quite a remarkable ruler given how he started off in life, and just surviving Caligula's reign before him was a major accomplishment. Too bad the excitement of his rule is lost in the trivia of Graves' books. I did give it 3 stars and I did like it, but frankly, watch the old PBS series "I, Claudius" from the 1970s - it captures very well the essence of Claudius without all the boring details of his projects.

The book is good to be perfectly honest BUT I do question was Claudius as GOOD as he makes out or as the TV series makes out or was as some say a tyrant in disguise....read it and make your own mind up, one thing for sure Claudius was far from being Rome's worst Emperor he was certainly one of the better ones though I suspect not the greatest that title must surely go to Augustus or Trajan as Mike Duncan suggests in his podcast The History of Rome, Claudius comes in about number 8 in the list of the top ten,all that being said the book itself is a good read but would suggest that the reading of I Claudius should come first and it will be seen that Rome was NOT any more decadent or corrupt as the upper echelons of our own society is today.

Great book. Penguin fonts size are becoming. Minimum day by day. Take care about class action suits

Las dos novelas de Graves son inevitables e imprescindibles para cualquiera que le guste la novela historica, la historia en si o Roma. En la primera, y a traves de Claudio, Graves recrea la Roma de Augusto, Tiberio y Caligula y lo que debio ser vivir dentro de una familia imperial recien creada a partir de una republica. "Yo, Claudio" no puede faltar. Esta segunda podria parecer mas precindible, aunque sigue mereciendo la pena. Claudio pasa de pseudo-narrador a actor principal y es mas dificil conectar con un emperador debil y cornudo pero el esfuerzo merece la pena. Si ya has leido a McCoullough, Posteguillo o Saylor, no se a que estas esperando.

Graves was a serious scholar as well as being a wonderful poet and writer. To call this historical fiction is to put too much weight on the word fiction. It's derived from extensive research and knowledge of the Caesars, but beautifully told. Try to read I Claudius first, but if you don't, don't worry. This is a gem on its own.

A bit long winded