The Claudius Novels: I, Claudius & Claudius the God (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics S.) - Tapa blanda

Claudius the Stammerer was known as a buffoon and a pitiful fool. He made it his business to watch from the sidelines and record the antics, funny, violent and lustful, of the imperial household as its members vied with each other for power. Then he found himself Emperor. From the great days of Augustus and the cruelties of Tiberius to the deified insanity of Caligula, he records a story breathtaking in its murderousness, greed and folly. Throughout the swings of fortune, his own disastrouslove affair with the depraved Messalina and surprisingly successful reign, his voice sometimes puzzled, sometimes rueful, always sane, speaks to us across the centuries in two great, classical historical novels.

Robert Graves (1895-1985) served as a captain in the Royal Welch Fusiliers in WWI. Apart from a year as Professor of English Literature at Cairo University in 1926, Graves earned his living by writing, mostly historical novels and poetry. His autobiography, GOODBYE TO ALL THAT (also a Twentieth Century Classic) rapidly established itself as the definitive Great War memoir. He is also acclaimed for his work as a translator. Graves died in Majorca, his home since 1929.