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74 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't miss the point, August 8, 2002
This review is from: Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina (Paperback)
A lot of the reviews of this book fail to recognise the exercise in which Graves was engaged when writing this book. I agree that he glorifies Claudius beyond what we will find in many historical texts, and also that he goes on about Herod Agrippa (although some people, including myself, find this very interesting) and in general, the book is written rather differently to I, Claudius. You must recall, however, whether you have read the book already or are considering reading it, that Graves sets about to write a fictional autobiography. That is the style that he chose and I think he does it brilliantly. In I, Claudius we see the various emperors of Rome through Claudius's eyes - we are shocked by their terror, their blood-thirstiness and the general tyranny of their rule. Claudius, as a Republican, allows us to see these things in a manner that we would understand. In this book, however, Graves is trying to give us insight into the mind of an emperor: we see the difference between what occupies his mind now and what did when he was just a citizen. We also see the manner in which he justifies his actions to himself. He is constantly claiming that his actions were not tyrannical, that he was not exercising imperial authority but that he was doing what any reasonable man in his circumstances would have done. In these passages Graves is making it clear to us that he is writing about Claudius as Claudius would have seen himself. After all, it would have been rather boring to just have another book on how terrible this or that emperor was - here, Graves has attempted, quite boldly, to put us in the shoes of the emperor and see how a reasonable man could fall prey to the charms of virtually unlimited power over the most powerful empire in world history. I think he does it brilliantly.
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fine sequel to an excellent book..., September 5, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina (Paperback)
Taking up where "I, Claudius" left off, "Claudius the God" chronicles the reign of one of the most unlikely Emperors in Roman history: the lame, stuttering, and hardly stupid Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus. Having spent his entire life trying to *avoid* any political office, mostly by letting his family think he's a hopeless idiot (intelligence tends to get weeded out rather rapidly among the Julio-Claudians, usually with the help of some poison), Claudius finds himself catapulted to the throne at the age of fifty-one when his nephew, the mad Emperor Caligula, is assassinated. He doesn't want to be Emperor-he is in fact a staunch believer in restoring the Roman Republic-but eventually is forced to accept the job and thus begins the ill-fated rule of one of the most interesting Emperors of all time. Of course he's doomed from the start-there's hardly an Emperor who *wasn't* murdered, and poison probably qualifies as death by natural causes when you're Roman aristocracy-and his wife Messalina is quite a piece of work, but that doesn't stop the book from being a good read, especially in the earlier parts of the story where Claudius shows an unexpected capacity for efficient administration. The same wry humor and political intrigue that characterized "I, Claudius" are present here as well, and the cast-of-thousands are all distinguished quite well from each other. While "Claudius the God" is not as captivating as its predecessor, and is in fact quite a bit more depressing, it's a book worth reading. There is only one drawback to reading these two tales of intrigue and Imperial families: you'll find yourself wanting to go out and get a food taster afterwards... Footnote: While this may be the wrong place to recommend videos, I strongly suggest that anyone who read and enjoyed "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God" should see the BBC miniseries. Derek Jacobi is perfect as Claudius, both as the aging Emperor and the young and gawky historian, and Sian Phillips brings the character of Livia to malevolent life with her portrayal of the woman behind the throne. A must-see for any fan of Roman history-or Rome in general!
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterful political historic novel with wit and humor, September 3, 2004
This review is from: Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina (Paperback)
Whereas Claudius the God is not quite as fast moving and dramatic as I, Claudius; the sequel is a worthy masterpiece equal to the first volume. Whereas I, Claudius was about survival without power; Claudius the God is about survival with power. This point is very well made as the parallel careers and lives of Claudius and Herod Agrippa are intertwined. Herod Agrippa and Cladius were close friends. Herod had been raised in the household of Octavia Caesar, Claudius' mother and sister to the Emporer Caesar Augustus. Claudius eventually realizes that the clever, witty, charming, light-hearted persona that Herod Agrippa presented to the royal court of the Julio-Claudians was in fact his shield and mask that hide his ambitions and aspirations. Claudius hide his intellect, wit,and insight behind his stutter and limp but because of his friendship with Herod, he learns late that Herod also had a mask. Yet, even though the rebellion of Herod, as king of the Jews, hurt Claudius because of their years of friendship; it was Herod who never betrayed Claudius at court, never revealed that Claudius was brighter than generally percieved, and gave him the best advice possible "Trust no one".
There is no other wasy to describe Claudius' marriage to Mesalina except to say it was very messy. Love is certainly blind and Claudius almost loses his life to the manipulative and treacherous young wife with her thousand lovers. Mesalina was a mess.
Graves documents that he used multiple sources other than Suetonius' Live of the Twelve Caesars. Suetonius wrote a hundred years after the reign of Claudius and thus had a republican axe to grind against all the Julio-Claudian family. Graves is far more sympathetic and balanced in his telling of the life of Claudius.
I enjoyed I, Claudius in a different way from Claudius the God. Graves was able to capture Claudius the survivor in a treacherous family in I,Claudius. In Claudius the God, there is more maturity and sad reality about the limitations of human life and aspirations.
They both are superb and must be considered two of the finest historic novels in the English language. Graves' use of the English language is perfectly beautiful and I found I quickly read through both novels, thorougly entertained by every page.
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