{"product_id":"claudius-the-god-by-robert-graves","title":"'Claudius, The God' by Robert Graves","description":"\u003ch4 data-start=\"33\" data-end=\"449\"\u003eRobert Graves’ great Roman court novel, told through the apparently weak, stammering, overlooked figure of Claudius.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"156\" data-end=\"512\"\u003eThe sequel to \u003cem data-start=\"170\" data-end=\"183\"\u003eI, Claudius\u003c\/em\u003e, following Claudius after the joke of survival becomes the nightmare of rule. Having outlived the dynastic carnage of the Julio-Claudian court, Claudius is now emperor: scholar turned administrator, reluctant sovereign, reformer, husband, dupe, and political animal trying to govern a machine designed to eat everyone inside it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"514\" data-end=\"1034\"\u003eGraves makes imperial Rome feel intimate, bureaucratic and obscene: public works, conquest, lawsuits, marriages, poisonings, religious theatre, military ambition, domestic betrayal. Where \u003cem data-start=\"702\" data-end=\"715\"\u003eI, Claudius\u003c\/em\u003e is about survival from the margins, \u003cem data-start=\"752\" data-end=\"770\"\u003eClaudius the God\u003c\/em\u003e is about what happens when the underestimated observer is forced into power himself. For readers of Hilary Mantel, Mary Renault, Marguerite Yourcenar, Gore Vidal, or anyone who wants historical fiction with real political bite rather than costume-drama wallpaper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"939\" data-end=\"1217\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePenguin paperback edition. Good second-hand condition, with visible cover rubbing, edgewear, corner wear and general age\/handling. Cover has that nice older Penguin mosaic design.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45702470729811,"sku":null,"price":13.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/thebowerbooker-2026-06-15T202402.780.png?v=1781519054","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/claudius-the-god-by-robert-graves","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}