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  • Published: 6 January 2011
  • ISBN: 9781408440407
  • Imprint: BBC DL
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 5 hr 47 min
  • Narrators: Tom Goodman-Hill, Derek Jacobi
  • Pages: 360

I, Claudius




A full-cast dramatisation of Robert Graves' brilliant account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome, starring Tom Goodman Hill as Claudius and Derek Jacobi as Augustus.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Robert Graves' brilliant account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome, starring Tom Goodman Hill as Claudius and Derek Jacobi as Augustus. The wickedly entertaining inside story of the lives and deaths of the Imperial dynasty from Augustus to Caligula is told by their obscure relation, Claudius. In public, Claudius is a stammering, drooling weakling, whose reputation as an idiot keeps him safe from office and assassination. But in private, he's as sharp as they come, and keeps a secret history of everything he discovers. Until one day, as one of the few of his family left alive, he's acclaimed Emperor against his will. Can he save Rome from the corruption he's grown to detest? Featuring Derek Jacobi (who won a BAFTA for his performance as Claudius in the acclaimed 1977 BBC television production) as Augustus, and with an all-star cast, this gripping dramatisation will enthral anyone who loves the decadence of Ancient Rome.

  • Published: 6 January 2011
  • ISBN: 9781408440407
  • Imprint: BBC DL
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 5 hr 47 min
  • Narrators: Tom Goodman-Hill, Derek Jacobi
  • Pages: 360

About the author

Robert Graves


Robert Graves was born in 1895 in Wimbledon, the son of Irish writer Perceval Graves and Amalia Von Ranke. He went from school to the First World War, where he became a captain in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. After this, apart from a year as Professor of English Literature at Cairo University in 1926, he earned his living by writing, mostly historical novels, including: I, Claudius; Claudius the God; Count Belisarius; Wife of Mr Milton; Sergeant Lamb of the Ninth; Proceed, Sergeant Lamb; The Golden Fleece; They Hanged My Saintly Billy; and The Isles of Unwisdom. He wrote his autobiography, Goodbye to All That, in 1929, and it was soon established as a modern classic. The Times Literary Supplement acclaimed it as 'one of the most candid self portraits of a poet, warts and all, ever painted', as well as being of exceptional value as a war document. Two of his most discussed non-fiction works are The White Goddess, which presents a new view of the poetic impulse, and The Nazarine Gospel Restored (with Joshua Podro), a re-examination of primitive Christianity. He also translated Apuleius, Lucan and Suetonius for the Penguin Classics, and compiled the first modern dictionary of Greek Mythology, The Greek Myths. His translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (with Omar Ali-Shah) is also published in Penguin. He was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1961 and made an Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Oxford, in 1971.

Robert Graves died on 7 December 1985 in Majorca, his home since 1929. On his death The Times wrote of him, 'He will be remembered for his achievements as a prose stylist, historical novelist and memorist, but above all as the great paradigm of the dedicated poet, 'the greatest love poet in English since Donne'.'

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Praise for I, Claudius

Mary McCartney gets it. She gets that the best food is always personal, always eaten with family and friends, always made simply from seasonal, fresh ingredients, and that memory and hope always sit side by side at the table too. And because she has such a sharp, idiosyncratic eye, all this is caught and celebrated with her stunning photographs.

Monty Don

Mary's love of vegetables is infectious! This book is packed full of vibrant, happy and easy-to-master recipes, each and every one delicious. But there is also an important issue at stake here and that is the health of this planet - we must all eat less meat in order to ensure its survival. This book proves more than anything that this needn't be a hardship but rather a joy!

Skye Gyngell

There is definitely a recipe in here to suit any occasion. From tostadas deluxe and pumpkin and chilli soup to buckwheat pancakes and black bean burgers you will never be stuck for a tasty and nutritious vegetarian meal

Mummy Pages

Makes entertaining easy, whatever the occasion

Town & Country

The recipes are family pleasers

Waitrose Weekend

A fantastic book. This really is one of those "pick up and be inspired" sort of cookery books

Vegetarian

A fabulous collection cleverly put together!

Good Book Guide

The pictures are lush with loads of recipes that are mainly designed to fit occasions.though there are loads of everyday staples too

Gaby Soutar, Scotsman

This is a fantastically non-pretentious guide to vegetarian cooking in the family home

Jocelyn Doyle, Easy Food

if you have vegetarians to feed, you'll never have to fret about catering for them again

Choice Magazine