It took a little while into this second volume of Robert Graves’s historical novel about the life and reign of emperor Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus), who becomes emperor at the very end of the first volume, much to his chagrin. It’s clear at the end when we get some source material added in the kinds of sources Graves used for his novel, in which sections are partially lifted. One example is a speech Claudius gives in which in the middle of his argument, […]

Poor poor pitiful me! Claudius is a kind of nephew to Caesar Augustus and born outside of Italy, but regardless, he’s still among the court, and eventually, as we know, will become emperor after Caligula. Claudius is also afflicted with a stammer and a limp, which both allows him to hide behind his two infirmities, but also forces him to the side of things. His stammer also causes most people in his life to believe he is not very smart. We know of course, from […]