I, Claudius and Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina.

GRAVES, Robert.

Item Number: 133203

London: Arthur Barker, 1934.

First editions of Graves’ classic Claudius novels. Octavo, 2 volumes, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. In fine condition. An exceptional set.

Drawing from such ancient sources as Tacitus and Suetonius, Graves created the secret "autobiography" of Claudius, narrated "in the imaginatively and idiosyncratically conceived persona of the emperor" (Drabble, 412). "In I, Claudius and its successor, Claudius the God, Robert Graves wrote two of the most resonant historical novels of the century… In impersonating Claudius, Graves displays a scholarly and imaginative understanding of the mores and ethos of the Roman world, and sensationalizes his material only as much as must be expected from a novelist with a living to earn… Graves' people are real Romans, and Claudius' autobiography is credible as the product of a Roman mind" (Parker, 175). I, Claudius was dramatized by the BBC in 1976 starring Derek Jacobi.