
I, Claudius
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Narrated by:
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Derek Jacobi
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By:
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Robert Graves
About this listen
The politics of empire-building and the hypocrisies, back-stabbings, and corruptions of Rome's first family come to light. First published in 1934, the book retains a marvelously modern and often comic tone, and is written in the form of Claudius' autobiography. This is gripping stuff, read by one of our finest actors, who also starred as Claudius in the classic television series.
©2007 CSA Telltapes Ltd. (P)2007 CSA Telltapes Ltd.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Rubicon
- The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Roman Republic was the most remarkable state in history. What began as a small community of peasants camped among marshes and hills ended up ruling the known world. Rubicon paints a vivid portrait of the Republic at the climax of its greatness—the same greatness which would herald the catastrophe of its fall.
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Story of the Fall of the republic told in a very lively manner.
- By Marteinn Úlfur on 12-16-24
By: Tom Holland
I suppose Derek Jacobi would have been too expensive to have perform the unabridged version, but I think it would be worth any extra expense to have it.
Very much abridged, but still good
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C
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David Evan Glasser
Need plus ultra
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Wish it were longer!
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Entertaining view into the world of the ceasars
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A wonderful retelling
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Derek Jacobi at his best.
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I, Claudius
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So, having chosen what I believed was the easier path, I still struggled in the early part of the book to keep up with all the -iuses - Claudius, Octavius, Tiberius, Posthumus, Germanicus, Augustus - you get the idea. Add to that the intermarriage and penchant for naming children a version of their parent's name (Agrippa - Agrippina, Livia - Livilla, etc), and it's a hard story to get a handle on without a family tree in front of you. That said, once I got the hang of it - I'd liken it to watching a movie with subtitles - I really enjoyed the story, Not short on drama, the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Also, the characters became easier to follow as more and more of them were killed off.
Originally published in 1934, I, Claudius takes the form of a memoir of Roman Emperor Claudius, who became emperor following the assassination of Caligula. He is, essentially, the last man standing. It is surprising, listening to this tale, that the Romans had any time at all to wage wars and conquer the world, given all the political intrigue and backstabbing at home.
Derek Jacobi is an excellent narrator, and his crisp delivery helped my understanding of the novel no end. Jacobi played Claudius in the 1976 BBC miniseries and 2007 radio adaptations of the book, so his knowledge of the character informs his reading of the book beautifully.
Having listened through to the end, I started again at the beginning in order to get clear in my head who was related to who (and who killed who) at the start. This isn't a story for everyone, but if you are interested in ancient history, enjoy a reading/listening challenge and are after some political intrigue, then this might be one for you.
When did they have time for world domination?
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Deliciously fascinating!
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