As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Home / Series / Claudius Series

Series

Claudius Series

The Claudius Series is Robert Graves’s two-volume fictional memoir of the Roman emperor Claudius and the Julio-Claudian dynasty. I, Claudius follows the imperial family from Augustus to Caligula through Claudius’s wary, observant voice, while Claudius the God covers his own reign and the forces that undermine it. Together the novels turn early imperial Rome into a study of succession, survival, court politics, family violence and the dangerous gap between public authority and private weakness.

Reading order

Books in this series (2 books)

I, Claudius cover

#1 – I, Claudius

Robert Graves

I, Claudius is presented as the private autobiography of Claudius, the physically awkward and politically underestimated member of the Julio-Claudian imperial family. The novel follows Rome from the last years of Augustus through the reigns of Tiberius and Caligula, showing the imperial household as a place…

Claudius the God cover

#2 – Claudius the God

Robert Graves

Claudius the God continues the fictional memoirs after Claudius becomes emperor. The novel follows his attempt to govern Rome through law, administration and public works while remaining dependent on freedmen, soldiers, informers and members of his own dangerous household. Its central events include the conquest of…