★★★★☆ Fictional autobiography of Rome's fourth Emperor

I, Claudius

Robert Graves

Robert Graves's I, Claudius begins with these words

I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus this-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles), who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as ‘Claudius the Idiot’, or ‘That Claudius’, or ‘Claudius the Stammerer’, or ‘Clau-Clau-Claudius’, or at best as ‘Poor Uncle Claudius’, am now about to write this strange history of my life...

It is ostensibly an autobiography written by Claudius himself, covering the years of his life until he suddenly and unexpectedly became Emperor of Rome. (The sequel, Claudius the God continues the story into his reign.)

Claudius is an intelligent and, given his environment and predecessors, surprisingly decent and humble man. Of course, the reader never forgets that we have only Claudius's own word for who and what he is. But his intelligence is beyond doubt -- a fool could not have written this. Perhaps he only appears decent and humble because that is how he wants to appear, to himself and others. But even if you want to believe that, you have to believe that Claudius wants to appear to be a decent and humble person, which goes a long way towards being one. Like Graves's fictional Claudius, the real Claudius wrote 28 volumes of history, an autobiography, and sundry minor works, all of which have sadly vanished without a trace.

I, Claudius covers much of the earliest history of the Roman Empire, from Augustus's final years through Tiberius (Claudius's uncle) and the murder of Caligula and succession of Claudius. This Modern Classics edition begins with an introduction by Barry Unsworth that usefully places I, Claudius in history and clarifies to what extent we can rely on the narration of the fictional Claudius.

Surprisingly, I, Claudius reminded me of two fantasy novels, Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner and The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. Pheris, the narrator of Return of the Thief is a severely handicapped man who cannot walk and can barely speak, but who conceals surprising intelligence. The Goblin Emperor is the story of a young man who is unexpectedly elevated to the emperorship of his country and who rises to power despite the forces arrayed against him. I wonder if Turner and Addison were influenced by I, Claudius. I suppose I will never know.

I, Claudius is a classic of historical fiction. It's an entertaining read, mostly because Claudius himself is a likeable and admirable character. Also, it's a good introduction to the early Roman Empire. I will certainly read Claudius the God.

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