I, Claudius cover art

I, Claudius

 Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

I, Claudius

By: Robert Graves
Narrated by: Derek Jacobi, Full Cast, Tom Goodman-Hill
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $20.23

Buy Now for $20.23

About this listen

 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. Biographical Fiction Classics Genre Fiction
All stars
Most relevant
This book is read by a cast of 4 narrators. The description said that Tom Goodman-Hill is Claudius and Jacobi is Augustus. But from the beginning it certainly seemed Jacobi was reading as Claudius. Confusing.

There is only one female narrator - which is a shame. The woman who does the reading has a good voice and reads well. But with so many very active female characters in the novel, there really should have been at least one more woman narrating, someone who would have a very different sound. I found hearing the same woman's voice throughout drew my attention from the story, which was distracting.

The book is more-or-less treated as a play, which works sometimes and sometimes not.

OK but not great

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.