A brilliant piece of imagination. Claudius is an unlikely author of the kiss & tell memoir, but that's what Graves creates, a kiss & tell of the roman period. Told in the style of a personal memior, it is very direct and first person, which makes it feel very modern. Tells of his family history through the reign of Augustys through to his birth, youth, adult hood & on into a potential declining old age, when he suddenly gets plucked from obscurity and made emperor - much against his will. Goes to show that there really is nothing new in the world, with sex scandals galore (although they did have a few more options concerning punishment that the courts have at their disposal now!). finishes as he is proclaimed Emperor. To someone with only a passing familiarity with the Romans, it all hangs together and rings true - if there are any historical inaccuracies, they don't stand out to spoil a rip roaring tale.
