Young Claudius is such an unlikely protagonist, and the story covers his childhood as the family embarrassment, with a stammer and a limp. Readers know from the start that he’s going to become emperor, there’s not really any suspense on that account, but what a ridiculously wild route. Claudius survives the reigns of Augustus (and Livia), Tiberius, and then insane Caligula, and is finally appointed to Imperial power, despite his not-so-secret republican leanings and basically his best efforts to stay away from becoming emperor. I’ve read this book 5 or 6 times now, and every time I notice another historical detail.

I, Claudius reimagines historical figures as complicated characters, and retells actual events with Claudius’ commentary and spin. It’s this compelling mix of careful research and details from Suetonius, and scenes that, well, no Roman historian said it DIDN’T happen that way, so why not?

It is not enough for us to form any judgment of his merits as a historian or his qualities as a stylist. It is Graves that gives him a voice, and what a voice it is, garrulous, digressive, spiced with gossip and scandal, at the same time strangely dispassionate and sober. There is a range of tone here that enables Claudius, in his persona as professional historian, to deal with matters widely diverse, to be equally convincing whether talking about the waste and excess of military triumphs, the fate of Varus and his regiments in the forests of Germany, or the endless intriguing for power and influence among the members of the imperial family.

Supuesta "autobiografía" de Claudio, singular emperador romano predestinado a serlo a pesar de que sus deseos fueran por otros caminos. Graves dibuja sin concesiones un espeluznante retrato sobre la depravación, las sangrientas purgas y las intrigas cainitas llevadas hasta el crimen durante los reinados de Augusto y Tiberio. Pero Yo, Claudio es también Calígula y su etapa sádica, Mesalina, Livia y, cómo no, Roma, un decorado único para esta trama argumental apasionante que se llevó a la pequeña pantalla con rotundo éxito.