Audiobook Reviews from Audiobook-Heaven
Title: I, Claudius
Author: Robert Graves
Narrator: Frederick Davidson
Copyright: 2009, Blackstone Audio
Duration: 16 hours, 42 minutes
Genres: classic fiction, historical
Filed in: Audiobook Reviews
Review copy provided by Blackstone Audio.
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: Set in the first century A.D. in Rome and written as an autobiographical memoir, this colorful story of the life of the Roman emperor Claudius stands as one of the modern classics of historical fiction.
Physically weak and afflicted with stuttering, Claudius is initially despised and dismissed as an idiot. Shunted to the background of imperial affairs by his embarrassed royal family, he becomes a scholar and historian, while palace intrigues and murders surround him. Observing these dramas from beyond the public eye, Claudius escapes the cruelties inflicted on the rest of the royal family by its own members and survives to become emperor of Rome in A.D. 41.
ROBERT GRAVES was one of the leading English men of letters in the twentieth century. Born in 1895, he fought in World War I and won international acclaim in 1929 with the publication of his autobiography, Goodbye to All That, an appraisal of the effect of the war on his generation. After the war, he was granted a Classical Scholarship at Oxford and subsequently went to Egypt as the first professor of English at the University of Cairo. He is most noted for his series of novels about the Roman Emperor Claudius, and his works on mythology such as The White Goddess. He died in 1986.
©1934 Robert Graves; (P)1994 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: I, Claudius is a stunning piece of historical fiction written in 1934 by British author Robert Graves. Claudius’ narrative provides an inside look at the Roman empire, from the time of Julius Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, to Caligula’s death in 41 AD. The arc of the story covers the Roman emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius.
If you’re unsure of the significance of I, Claudius, consider the following: the Modern Library ranked I, Claudius 14th on it’s list of the 100 best English language novels of the 20th century in 1998. In 2005, Time Magazine chose I, Claudius as one of the 100 best English language novels from 1923 to present. Those are some pretty high credentials indeed.
I, Claudius tells the story, in autobiographical form, of a man born into the ruling family of Rome, but who was always overlooked and cast aside. Claudius had a stutter, a limp, and various nervous ticks that led people to believe he was feebleminded. This worked in Claudius’ favor as he survived the plague of assassinations that befell his family; no one believed him to be worth killing. He surprised them all when he eventually became emperor and proved himself to be an intelligent and effective ruler.
Frederick Davidson is a good narrator, but it was hard for me to really like him. That’s not his fault though. In American television and movies,the uptight and snobbish characters, especially waiters and hotel managers, always seem to affect a particular kind of British accent that I do not know the proper name for. Davidson had that kind of accent and I found it very difficult not to stereotype him.
FUN FACT: While reading I, Claudius, I learned that the Latin word “Caesar” means “a fine head of hair.”
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If you like this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get “I, Claudius by Robert Graves (Unabridged Audiobook) from Blackstone Audio.
This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
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