This sequel to "I, Claudius" is very good but does not quite measure up to the first book (but it would be hard to be as good as that excellent book). All the most interesting characters are dead and gone, really leaving only Claudius. It is just a bit too long and bogs down at points. The chapters on Herod Agrippa and those on the invasion of Britain are interesting, but are too detailed and I was longing to get back to Rome and it's intrigues. On the positive side, the research and historical accuracy are excellent and give much insight into the government and running of Imperial Rome. Like Claudius, the reader wishes the Roman Republic could return and stop the line of emperors, but unlike Claudius we all know it never happens. Again Graves creates some interesting characters, but none measure up to the first book (I miss Livia!). You feel sorry for Claudius, stuck in a job he didn't want and alone at the top. And then there is Messalina... By all means read this book, but read "I, Claudius" first. And then re-watch the 1976 BBC series too, of course! Can anyone (over a certain age) read these books without thinking of Derek Jacobi? ( )

For most of his life a historian survived his murderous family to become the leader of one of the greatest empires in history, now he must rule. Claudius the God is Robert Graves historical fiction follow-up to I, Claudius as the now fourth Emperor of Rome continues his secret autobiography that focuses on his time as Caesar.

This sequel focuses on Claudius’ time as Emperor, primarily up to fall of his wife Messalina, except at the beginning when the life of Herod Agrippa so that Claudius could explain how Herod helped him become Emperor. Throughout the book Claudius tells how he wants to undo the damage his uncle and nephew have caused and fulfill Augustus dream of retiring and allowing the Republic to return. However after Claudius learns of his wife’s secret life and his near overthrow, he comes to the conclusion that Rome needs a worse emperor than Tiberius and Caligula combine for the Republic to the be restored. Like the first book, Graves presents Claudius as a believable person with high hopes that see them dashed against reality while also presenting a great first-person narrative that uses Suetonius and Tacitus as primary sources that gives the reader a look into Roman history without it being dry.

Claudius the God brings the life of the fourth Roman Emperor to it’s conclusion as Robert Graves once again gives the reader a great character to follow throughout the book. ( )

As much as I liked the first book, I liked the second one even better. I think the religious conflict helped this story a bit. I also like Robert Graves' writing overall. He makes it convincing that Claudius wrote the book and not him. In my opinion, this is some of the best historical fiction I've read in a long time.

Before Robert Graves, I didn't really have any interest in Roman emperors or even Roman History. I always thought it was boring. After reading these two Claudius books I was proven wrong. Not only is it interesting, but exciting. Maybe it's because of the scandals and murder that make it interesting to me.

In someways, I wish there was a third book or more to this book, but there is not. Claudius eventually dies at the end and there isn't any reason to continue the story. However, Graves wrote a lot of books and there are other books about Claudius out there. For me, this is only the end of the beginning. ( )

3.5, rounded down.

Perhaps I would have loved this more if I had not already known the details of the story. This did not move as fast or fluid as [b:I, Claudius|18765|I, Claudius (Claudius, #1)|Robert Graves|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388185810s/18765.jpg|4232388] and Graves got a bit bogged down in several sections with details of Roman wars. Particularly difficult was the section regarding the conquering of Britain, with the strategy of the battle taking up chapter upon chapter. He did much the same thing with his accounts of events in the East and the life of Herod Agrippa.

I highly, highly recommend seeing the Masterpiece Theater series adapted from these novels. This is one of the few times when the movie far outstrips the novels it was based upon. My hat is off to the writers who adapted these novels so perfectly. Of course, also off to Robert Graves, who saw in Claudius the Stammerer more than just a tidbit of history and found in him a remarkable survivor. ( )

I picked up I Claudius and Claudius the God, because I remembered really liking the BBC Series, which we watched in Latin Class. I approached the first book with some caution, not sure if they would live up to the TV series, after all, these books were written almost 80 years ago. I was not disappointed. They're great. Really great. It is written in a manner that projects a lot of authenticity, yet very pleasant to read.

'I Claudius' deals with Claudius' childhood up until Caligula's assassination, in the form of an autobiography. 'Claudius the God' describes Claudius' life as emperor of Rome until his death.

It's obvious that Graves knows his stuff and that he has done a lot of research. Granted, he does portray some of the wild stories that Suetonius and the like wrote about as being true, and most historians will tell you to take this with a pinch of salt. But hey, I remember loving those stories in my Latin classes, the crazier the better. I adored Caligula, he was just awesome. Horse elected senator, war against Neptune, oh man. Good stuff.

So many times while reading these, I came upon facts, or names or whatever and I would have an 'ohhhh yeah!' moment and remember things that I'd been taught years ago. These two books are a must-read for people who are interested in Roman stuff. Graves does tend to go into a lot of detail, so make sure you're a total geek before you start. Myself, nine times out of ten, I was very interested. And there's always epic battles, murder, deceit, banishment and adultery to mix things up.

Personally, I enjoyed the first book a little more than the second one, but that might be because the first one has historical V.I.P.'s such as Caligula and Augustus (who is, by the way, probably a little slower and a little more pussywhipped than the real Augustus was), but they are both still very much recommended. By me.

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Historical fiction disguised as a memoir. Claudius is not a difficult read - it's actually most entertaining.

This and I,Claudius are historical fiction at its finest. Claudius The God is much longer and slower in some places, but I think it's a more nuance look at the times than it's predecessor. Highly recommended. ( )

“Most men—it is my experience—are neither virtuous nor scoundrels, good-hearted nor bad-hearted. They are a little of one thing and a little of the other and nothing for any length of time: ignoble mediocrities.”

Claudius the God is the sequel to I, Claudius, and takes up the story two tears after Claudius was made emperor and after telling the backstory of Claudius' charismatic friend Herod Agrippa, concentrates on the 13 year tenure of Claudius. Claudius survived his murderous predecessors chiefly because he was thought too stupid to be a threat and of as a harmless fool, However, when he becomes Emperor he generally proves himself to be quite adept with his public life, recovering the eagles lost by Varus in the German forest, made Ostia a thriving port, wrote a dictionary and conquered Britain.

Claudius's private life though is a mess and portrayed as easily manipulted by his various wives in particular the promiscuous and debauched Messalina's. This gives a certain poignancy to the overall tale. Claudius wants to abdicate and restore the Republic but soon realises that ironically he is the only one that does .The Empire's elite are merely jockeying for position and power whilst the Army and the people themselves seem to prefer a strong autocrat as a leader. So reluctantly he is forced to carry on until in his sixty-fourth year he is seemingly finally murdered.

Without the sheer madness of Caligula of the first novel this one loses some of that humour but that said this novel is a worthy finale to Graves' powerful and original overview of this interesting and barbaric period in history IMHO. A period of history that is still recognisable today. ( )

One of my favorite books EVER. I simply adore Claudius; and find him lovable and charming. Graves breathes life into characters so historic and legendary, and makes the reader feel as though we are actually living in Ancient Rome. Graves does all this, while simultaneously keeping the integrity of history. It's the book that got me convinced I can read and really love historical fiction as a genre, as much as fiction. I've introduced this book to many friends, as it was introduced to me by a friend. I highly recommend it-- your perception of Roman history will be forever deepened! ( )

This follow-up novel to Robert Graves' classic, "I, Claudius" continues the life story of the Roman Emperor Tiberius Claudius. It begins immediately following where the previous novel left off, and ends with his death under mysterious circumstances, and his deification. ( )

"Claudius, the God" continues Robert Graves' story of the Emperor Claudius beginning just after he is crowned emperor and continues to his death. It is, like the prior book "I, Claudius", a first-person narrative. The fascinating story continues and though not quite as exciting as the first novel (Claudius was not as wild and depraved as Tiberius or Caligula), the story keeps moving, the conspiracies keep mounting and his end, though not unexpected, was presented with a twist that catches our breath. Claudius' friendship with Herod Agrippa who was the King Herod in the Acts of the Apostles, grandson of Herod the Great and nephew of Herod Antipas who had John the Baptist beheaded, is a truly wonderful tale. I knew nothing about this Herod and the history of Judea and the surrounding kingdoms during the Roman empire, but I want to know more now. Though this is a book of fiction (Claudius did not write this autobiography), Graves tells us in the introduction that none of the characters or events are made up, only his interpretation of the events are speculative. Amazing!! ( )

Fantastic read but not as good as I, Claudius. ( )

Continues where I, Claudius left off. Brilliant. ( )

there were parts of this book that dragged for me more than in the previous book (i, claudius) but overall it was still pretty interesting. it was a nice look into what power does to someone, how a person who (it seemed, anyway) is good can rationalize terrible behavior. makes me wonder if the truly evil people in the history described in the earlier book were doing the same thing or not. this book had a lot of quoting of documents, which sometimes detracted and sometimes added to the story. mostly it was an interesting history and it was nice that the reliability of the narrator was called into question, which throws not just this book but the earlier one in a different light. ( )

I have to echo the LibraryThing reviewer who said that if this sequel to I, Claudius is less impressive than the first book, it's because it's narrower in scope. I, Claudius isn't just this faux autobiography, it gave a run through of the members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty prior to Claudius--Livia, Augustus and Germanicus made quite the impression in that first book, which ended with Claudius being raised to Emperor of Rome. The focus in this book is his short reign of little more than a decade. And while the first book allows us to think of Claudius as crafty and only pretending to be an idiot (at least if you've never read Graves' source, Suetonius' Twelve Caesars), that's a lot harder here where he comes across as so, so clueless, at least in his personal life.

That said, this book is still an engaging read, and among the richest, best written works of historical fiction I've ever read. I've read Graves felt he was slumming it in his Claudius books, but it certainly doesn't come through. The picture he paints of early Christianity and Roman-era Britain is particularly fascinating. I only regret it's so hard to find more of Graves historical fiction in print. I loved his King Jesus, a story of a historical Jesus--married to Mary Magdalene--and published in 1946. Way, way before that travesty of a novel, The Da Vinci Code. But he also wrote other novels about the ancient world, such as Count Belisarius and Hercules, My Shipmate and Homer's Daughter I'd love to read. The Claudius books are his most famous though, and definitely where to start. ( )

An entertaining trip through Rome and the Empire during the reign of Claudius. Told through the eyes of Claudius, starting from his surprise naming of emperor to his death by poisoning by Agripallina. Insightful. ( )

As good as reading it was watching it on Masterpiece. ( )

Great read. 80 years old, still worth it. Leaves one wondering how in Hell the Romans managed to hang in for centuries after the julio-Claudians. ( )

Eventhough I still like the person Claudius as portrayed in this book, I found this one more difficult to read than "I, Claudius". There are, in my opinion, too many 'exact' copies of speeches and statements. They are written in a more flowery way and sometimes rather boring.
Other than that, the story is still quite good and the character equally fascinating.

It feels like there's somewhat less intrige and scandal than in the first book, but I wonder if that's really the case.

If you like "I, Claudius", you really should finish the man's life's story and read this one too. ( )

This is the second volume in a two volume biography written by Robert Graves in 1934 and 1935. It was the basis for the I Claudius series that was produced in 1976 with Derek Jacobi playing the part of Claudius. A lot of the material was taken from the biography of Claudius in the book Twelve Caesars by Suetonius.
Claudius was Emperor of Rome from 41 to 54 c.e. the the 5th of the Julio-Claudian emperors. Growing up he had some physical afflictions and was shoved in background by his family. He became Emperor after the assassination of Caligula when he was pulled out from his hiding place behind a curtain by a member of the Praetorian Guard who then proclaimed him Emperor.
The book is very well written with a lot of details about Roman life at this time. Since Claudius was the Emperor a lot of the book is about the business of running the Roman government and the politics of Claudius' era.
Some of the superstitious practices set out in the book are humorous. In the section on the Roman invasion of Britain the night before the big battle they brought out some sacred chickens and watched how they ate the sacred cakes. The chickens gobbled up the cakes which was a portent of victory in the battle. The Romans often consulted different auguries and had an extensive calendar of religious rites and sacrifices.
The campaign in Britain was one of the highlights of the book. It portrayed the Roman Army in action against the chariot army of the natives of Britain. Clauduis' marriages were a highlight of his personal life. He had no luck with women. His third wife, Messalina cheated on him constantly and the consensus is that his fourth wife Agrippina had him poisoned.
Claudius' best friend was Herod Agrippa. They met in Rome as boys and continued their friendship until Agrippa's death. They called each other brigand (Herod) and marmoset (Claudius) In their correspondence after Herod became ruler of Judea is an interesting commentary on the life of Jesus Christ.
Claudius supposedly had ambitions to bring back the Roman Republic but toward the end of the book his outlook changes. He became more fatalistic and supposedly knew he was taking poison when he was handed the fatal mushroom.
This book is an entertaining way to learn something about Ancient Rome. The details of Claudius' life are questionable but they make a good story. After reading this book I don't think I would have wanted the life of a Roman Emperor. ( )

This sequel to "I, Claudius" was just as engaging as the original. ( )

The second (and much sadder) half of the story of Emperor Claudius of Rome. Essential reading if you have read the first half, but it will make you a bit sad. For all his faults, we came to rather admire Claudius in the first book, but in this one he is not quite as secretly capable, or--more importantly--lucky. ( )

The second part of the granddaddy of all historical novels on ancient Rome (I, Claudus and Claudius the God must be read together). A small part of the genius of Graves is that he chose Claudius as his subject: A short-term, minor emperor, he demonstrates what the Julio-Claudian dynasty was all about. Graves imagines Claudius understanding all but unable to affect anything. ( )

I, Claudius and this book are the greatest additions to the ancient histories of Tacitus and Suetonius, at least until we hopefully - someday - discover the lost chapters of Tacitus' history of the early emperors. Wouldn't that be a great day? This is fiction, of course, but presented in similar, matter-of-fact style and filled with the same barrage of murderous intrigue and tyranny. What percentage of this is fact, I am not sure, though I imagine quite a lot of it is. But it's overall "factiness" just adds to the fascination of the story. How did they do it, those crazy Romans?

As sympathetic as Claudius is, he is a product of the barbarity of his age as well, but it's a fascinating barbarity that coexists with complex bureaucracies and philosophies untainted by the intervening era of Christianity. Ultimately, it's a tragedy for the uniquely brave Emperor, God or not, especially knowing what was to follow. Great read, though, and very entertaining, informative and bloody soap opera. ( )

See Claudius the Historian at From Word to Word