Claudius the God: And His Wife Messalina Paperback – International Edition, October 23, 1989

"Claudius the God" is the second of Graves' two-part story of the Roman Emperor Claudius, told in the form of an autobiography. It continues right where "I, Claudius" leaves off, at Claudius's ascendancy to Emperor following Caligula's rather bloody end. Thanks to Livia, Tiberius, and Caligula, most of the politically prominent citizens of Rome have been poisoned, exiled, or otherwise done away with when Claudius begins his reign. So things are relatively peaceful for a while.If you've read the other reviews of this book, you may get the impression that it's not near as good as the first and that you wouldn't be missing out on much by skipping it. And I guess it all comes down to your tastes. If you're looking for a story packed with intrigue and deception culminating in a triumphant ending, you won't find it in the sequel. There aren't as many loonies around anymore to laugh at. And the last few years of Claudius's reign are decidedly sobering.Yet if you like reading about history as much as I do, there's still a ton of fascinating material here to immerse yourself in. Such as a rich background on Herod Agrippa, the Jewish king who feigns friendship with Claudius while secretly fomenting rebellion. Or interesting details on the Celtic druids' rituals. And of course an account of Claudius's successful invasion of Britain. Back at home Claudius's lovely wife Messalina eventually reveals her shocking true colors, leading to a purge of Rome's corrupt nobility by Claudius.All narration is in the same style that distinguished the first book: witty, humorous, and anything but dry. At the end of the first book, I simply had to know what happened to Claudius next. So for me, this book was a necessary read and I'm pleased to say that it far surpassed the expectations I had formed upon reading many of the other reviews here. Claudius makes a heroic effort to repair the extensive damage that the mad Caligula wreaked on the Empire's finances and general well-being (such as adding ~150 holidays to the year!). He largely succeeds but only temporarily, then ultimately yields to the Empire's natural entropic tendency to fall into disorder. You may feel somewhat down after reading it, but you'll have to agree that the ride was fascinating while it lasted!Highly recommended.

This novel picks up where I, Claudius left off. Claudius is doing what no one, especially Claudius himself ever expected - he is ruling the Empire. He has been put into power by a completely unexpected twist of fate, and now he had to take on the challenge. In many ways Claudius turned out to be an excellent choice for Emperor, he had spent most of his life studying history, and other subjects to make him qualified to be an excellent ruler. He, unlike many of his predecessors was truly interested in the welfare of all of Rome's citizens, the proper management of the City and the Empire. He undertook many civil engineering projects to improve the lives of the City's inhabitants and also helped plan and lead a successful conquest of Britain. In many ways he was an astute and wise ruler but as he aged Claudius' own honesty and trusting nature proved his undoing. He was betrayed by friends, his wife and family and ultimately this character who the reader has come to respect and admire throughout these novels reverts to family traits and becomes as conniving and cruel as his predecessors.This portion of the novel, and it is truly the second half of the long novel begun in I, Claudius, does drag in places making this book all too easy to put down for long periods. The final chapters though do provide the ending that the first book which stopped on a cliff hanger and than an actual ending. This book takes us to the end of Claudius' life, one where we are able to see how his own carefully crafted and well meaning plans played out. Even the most casual reader of history will realize that kind and well meaning Claudius' intentions were not carried out by Nero. This

Robert Graves' I, ClaudiusI, Claudius (Penguin Classics), and Claudius the GodClaudius the God (Penguin Classics) are really one longer completely brilliant work rather than stand alone novels. Do read them in order. I've loved them since the first time I read them, loved the Masterpeice Theater production with Sir Derek Jacobi as ClaudiusI, Claudius. Although the title of that was I, Claudius as well, it covered both books.These works inspired me, and others, to study Roman History in fact through their fiction. Some of the more interesting and scandalous bits are questioned by historians. That's fine as this does not pretend to be anything by fiction.The fun, though, is how much is fact based and how entertaining those facts are. For a very largely factual story, this is a thrill ride of a novel. Heros, murderers, lunatics, royalty, poor relations, valor, politics, theater, battles, scandals, elephants, gods, and all in one family who are pretty much ruling what they think of as the known world in whatever spare time they have left.Claudius the God is the last phase of Claudius' life, where he goes from outliving most of his family, and how it affects him (and many other people). People have objected to some of the work as "padding", the long look at Herod Agrippa's story, for example. I enjoyed it all. Graves is a brilliant writer. One can appreciate that these books came from a Poet Laureate.Penguin chose a terrible cover for this, in my view. Don't be put off by it. One of the many advantages of ebooks is that you don't have to look at a terrible cover.

It's not great but ok. There's far too much focus on Herod. It is worth reading if you have read I Claudius.