Graves' classic historical novels (written in the 1930s, about Ancient Rome circa AD 1) follow Tiberius Claudius, adopted grandson to the Emperor Augustus (if I remember right), through several generations of poisonings, exiles, executions, and frame-ups, as his relatives compete for the Emperor-ship. Claudius--deemed an idiot by his family, given his various physical infirmities and a serious stammer--manages to outlive his power-hungry, poison-happy (but brilliant, in her own bad way) grandmother, Livia; her corrupt son, Emperor Tiberius; and the downright mad Emperor Caligula, to eventually become Emperor himself. (This is all on the back of the book, I swear. I'm not ruining any more than the blurbist did.)Both books are excellent--full of detail, but not so laden down with historical facts and asides that they're difficult to read (though I learned plenty about battle tactics, that's for sure). They're narrated by Claudius himself, in the form of his "memoir", I suppose, and are the sort of books that leave you dazzled by the sheer magnitude of the project. How many years of research went into writing this? I want to know.
RATING: 4
No comments:
Post a Comment