I Claudius

Robert Graves’s novel I, Claudius (1934) is written in the form of an autobiography by the Roman Emperor Claudius. It follows the time period of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and the Roman Empire. A sequel, Claudius the God, followed in 1935. Both of these novels were combined and adapted into an award-winning television show by the BBC, also called I, Claudius. The Modern Library ranked I, Claudius fourteenth on its list of the 100 Best English-Language Novels of the 20th Century in 1998. The novel was chosen by Time as one of the hundred best English language novels from 1923 to the present in 2005.

Claudius begins by telling the reader that he is the author of the text, explaining that it is a history of his family. He swears to tell the truth. This will include a strong criticism of Augustus and Livia.

Augustus reigns and seems to be quite prosperous although he experiences many personal losses. Many of his favorite heirs die at various points in time, including Marcellus, Marcus Agrippa, Gaius Caesar, and Lucius Caesar. Claudius tells the reader that these many suspicious and untimely deaths are because of the calculating Livia, Augustus’ wife. She is seeking to make her own son, Tiberius, the heir.



It is during this time that Claudius is born, a sickly boy with a limp and a stutter. He is shunned by nearly everyone, including his own mother, Antonia, who is particularly cruel to him. The only people who are kind to him are his brother, Germanicus, and his cousin, Postumus. Claudius also manages to gain a tutor, a kind and wise philosopher named Athenodorus. He teaches Claudius a love for history and the republican government. Claudius is advised one day by one of his greatest idols, Asinius Pollio, to play the fool to survive.

Postumus is framed for raping Livilla and beating his niece Aemilia. He is banished to an island but tells Claudius the truth. Claudius repeats this to Germanicus, who convinces Augustus that Postumus is innocent. Augustus decides to replace Postumus on the island with Clemens, a double, and writes a secret will, naming Postumus as his heir. Sadly, Livia finds the will and poisons Augustus.

Tiberius is named Emperor, but the German legions refuse fealty. They swear allegiance to Germanicus, who is confused by this. He refuses this claim and sends his wife and youngest son, Caligula, away. He asks Claudius for a ridiculous loan to pay for the soldiers, and Claudius agrees, pretending the money is for gambling debts. Caligula returns, Germanicus ends the mutiny and campaigns successfully in Germany.



Claudius discovers Postumus is alive and in hiding. He is plotting to overthrow the power and take back his rightful place. Claudius writes to Germanicus about this, but Livia intercepts the letters. Postumus is caught and executed by Tiberius, and Livia sends Claudius away to Carthage. Tiberius, suspicious of him still, spies on Germanicus, who is eventually poisoned. It is revealed that Caligula poisoned his father.

Sejanus, Tiberius’s trusted Captain, secretly plots to usurp the monarchy. He plans to poison his own son, Castor, and Germanicus’s wife, Agrippina. Agrippina survives because of the secret information she has about Augustus’s true feelings about Tiberius.

Livia has a dinner, inviting Claudius and Caligula. She claims Caligula will be the Emperor and that Claudius will succeed him. Livia makes Claudius swear that she will be a goddess, and he agrees. Claudius meets Livia on her deathbed, reveals that Caligula betrayed her, and swears she will be the Queen of Heaven, which causes her to claim he is no fool.



Tiberius, a merciless dictator, executes hundreds, before discovering Sejanus’s betrayal. He gives more power to Caligula and Naevius Sutorius Macro, and Sejanus and his children are killed. Claudius divorces his wife, Sejanus’s sister, and survives. Livilla is locked away by her mother, Antonia, and starves to death. Antonia punishes herself by listening to her own daughter die.

Tiberius grows old and weary and is smothered to death by Macro. Caligula is then the Emperor and initially is kind and good. Claudius is recalled to Rome after running to live in Capua. Caligula begins to lose his mind, suffers great illness, and declares himself a god. He becomes irrational, kills thousands, and bankrupts the entire country. His madness seems to be at its zenith when he is finally challenged by Cassius Chaerea. Cassius kills Caligula, his wife, and his daughter. Claudius watches in hiding, horrified, but is discovered. The guards jokingly declare Claudius as Emperor, who pleads that he does not want to be, but he is ignored. Claudius eventually accepts the title for the safety of his wife and unborn child. He thinks that at least as Emperor he can finally have people read his books.