Vintage International, 1934 (reprinted 1989), ISBN 0-679-72477-X, $13.00, 468 pages

This 1989 reprint of the 1934 original transports you back to the Imperial palace of ancient Rome, or perhaps back to the BBC TV series. Indeed, I found it difficult to picture Claudius as anyone but Derek Jacobi. But I am ahead of myself.

I, Claudius, is the first half of the "memoirs" of the Roman Emperor Claudius, who sat on the throne from 41 AD to 54 AD after the murder of the previous emperor, Caligula. It is a work of fiction, and yet, judging by the number of original sources consulted, attempts to accurately detail the machinations and intrigues among the Imperial family and nobility while filling in the blanks with speculation.

On the whole, it succeeds admirably, for the plots and schemes of a dozen pretenders vie with the double crosses of a dozen more. If there are too many names to keep straight, understand the book covers roughly 50 years, from Claudius' boyhood to his death. The prose can strangle you at times, for flashbacks and flash-forwards punctuate the text, but it never fails to keep you involved. On a side note, you have to give credit to the BBC writers for paring down the book into digestible chunks for TV.

I, Claudius, is the first half, covering Claudius' boyhood to his assumption of the throne. The second book, Claudius the God, covers from that time until his death.

If you haven't had a chance to read the original book, you should. You'll be pleasantly surprised how gripping it can be--even if you have watched the TV series.

More Claudius

I, Claudius
Claudius the God