I, Claudius - Emperor of the Romans - Born 10 B.C.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda

Biographical and publication-front matter for Robert Graves’ historical novel I, Claudius, presented with details about the author’s life, poetic work, and historical-fiction bibliography. The text includes editions and copyright/manufacturing information, a Latin epigraph attributed to Sibylline verses, and an Author’s Note explaining monetary and time references (aureus, sestertii, denarii; Roman miles; Christian vs. Greek reckoning) and translational choices for technical terms and proper names.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages404

Reading Time10 h 22 min

AccessFree to download

Author's Note

Robert Graves 1 o 0ke # PENGUIN BOOKS 318 I,CLAUDIUS Robert Graves was born in 1895 at Wimbledon,sonof Alfred Perceval Graves,the Irish writer,and Amaliavon Ranke.He went from school to the First WorldWar,where he became a captain in the Royal WelchFusiliers.His principal calling is poetry,and hisSelected Poems have been published in the PenguinPoets.Apart from a year as Professor of EnglishLiterature at Cairo University in 1926 he has earnedhis living by writing,mostly historical novels whichinclude:I,Claudius;Claudius the God;Sergeant Lambof the Ninth;Count Belisarius;Wife to Mr Milton (allpublished as Penguins);Proceed,Sergeant Lamb;TheGolden Flece;They Hanged My Saintly Billy;andThe Isles of Unwisdom.He wrote his autobiography,Goodbye to All That,in 1929.His two most discussednon-fiction books are The White Goddess,which pre-sents a new view ofthe poetic impulse,and The Naza-rene Gospel Restored(with Joshua Podro),a re-exami-nation of primitive Christianity.He has translatedApuleius,Lucan,and Suetonius for the Penguin clas-sics,and the first modern dictionary of Greek mytho-logy,The Greek Myths.He was elected Professor ofPoetry at Oxford in 1961. I,CLAUDIUS )lplo/31~y0e EMPEROR OF THE ROMANS BORN IO B.C.MURDERED AND DEIFIED A.D.54 Penguin Books Ltd,Harmondsworth,Middlesex,EnglandPenguin Books Australia Ltd,Ringwood,Victoria,Australia First published by Arthur Barker 1934Published by Methuen 1939 First published in Penguin Books(in two volumes)1941Reprinted 1944 New edition in one volume 1953Reprinted 1955,1958,1960,1962,1963,1964,1966,1967 一 Copyright ◎Robert Graves,1934 Made and printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay(The Chaucer Press)Ltd,Bungay,SuffolkSet in Monotype Times This book is sold subject to the conditionthat it shall not,by way of trade or otherwise,be lent,re-sold,hired out,or otherwise circulatedwithout the publisher's prior consent in any form ofbinding or cover other than that in which it ispublished and without a similar conditionincluding this condition being imposedon the subsequent purchaser I am indebted for the Latin version of the Sibylline versesmentioned in the first chapter to Mr A.K.Smith,I.C.S.They are here first printed: Punica centenos durabit poena per annos:Res Romana viro parebit caesariato: Calvus caesarie dominus dominabitur urbi:Omnibus ille viris mulier mas ille puellis:Rex equitabit equo bifidis equus unguibus ibit:Filius imbelli fictus mactaverit ictu. Imperium hinc alter ficto patre caesariatoCaesariae crinitus habet,qui marmore RomaeMutabit lateres.Non visis vinciet UrbemCompedibus.Fictae secreto coniugis astuOccidet ut fictus bona filius occupet heres.Tertius hinc sumet ficto patre caesariatoCalvus caesarie regnum cui sanguine limusCommixtus.Victrix penes ilium et victa vicissimRoma erit.Ille instar gladii pulvinar habebit,Filius et fictus regni potietur iniqui. Quartus habet solium ficto patre caesariatoCalvus caesarie invenis,cui Roma ministrae est.Feta veneficiis Urbs impia serviet uni.Quo puer ibat equo vectus calcatus eodemSe iuvenem ferro cecidisse fatetur equinoCaesariatus ad hoc quintus numerabitur hirtusCaesarie,toti genti contemptus avitae.Imbecillus iners,aestivas addere Romae Aptus aquas populo frumenta hiemalia praebet.Ille tamen fictae secreto coniugis astuOccidet ut fictus bona filius occupet heres.Sextus habet regnum ficto patre caesariato. Flamma pavor citharoedus eunt tria monstra per urbem.Sanguine dextra rubet materno.Septimus heresNemo erit,at sexti busto cruor ibit ab imo. R.G. Galmpton,Brixham1941 .…A story that was the subject of everyvariety of misrepresentation,not only bythose who then lived but likewise in suc-ceeding times:so true is it that all trans-actions of pre-eminent importance arewrapt in doubt and obscurity;whilesome hold for certain facts the most pre-carious hearsays,others turn facts intofalsehood;and both are exaggerated byposterity. TACITUS # Author's Note THE‘gold piece'

FAQs

Who is Robert Graves and what background is given in the document?

The document provides biographical information about Robert Graves, including his birth, education and career, his work as a poet, and his historical novels such as I, Claudius. It also mentions his nonfiction works and his role at Oxford.

What does the Author’s Note clarify about dates and measurements?

It explains the monetary standard using the Latin aureus, the Roman mile length relative to the English mile, and how marginal dates are given using Christian reckoning while also referencing Greek Olympiad-based counting.

How does the Author’s Note handle translation of names and technical terms?

It states that familiar geographic and personal names are used instead of less recognizable classical variants, and it discusses difficulties finding equivalents for military and legal technical terms, giving the example of translating assegai versus German framea/pfreim and reserving javelin for pilum.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda