This review does not contain spoilers.
The characters in this book are just as alive as the historical figures in Suetonius’s The Twelve Caesars, which Graves translated for Penguin Classics later in his life. That should also be a hint for readers to open this book at their discretion. There is nothing particularly graphic, but I, Claudius still describes bits and pieces of violence and cruelty (though not quite as explicit) characteristic of The Twelve Caesars.
P-p-poor old Clau-Clau-Claudius is the stu-stu-stuttering fool of the imperial family, the shame of his heroic father Drusus Germanicus and his cultured mother Antonia. Known as a deformed half-wit, he manages to hide his intelligence and survives the rampant intrigues and murders in imperial Rome because his bloody family considers that he is not worth poisoning, torturing, or exiling. He quietly observes everything that happens from the time of his early childhood (somewhere in the middle of Augustus’s reign) to the downfall of his insane nephew Caligula. This book is written as Claudius’ autobiography, and he narrates the doings (both public and private) of members of the imperial family in detail. The story alternately makes your blood burn with anger or chills you with foreboding, but you are never intimidated to put the book down because Claudius writes with a down-to-earth dryness and wit that makes you laugh more than frown. If you read it seriously, it can be grim and dark; the drama is intense and the violence shocking, but Claudius’s subtle sense of humor pricks you unawares. The narration is smooth for the most part (though it can sometimes seem ‘awkward’; in his "Author’s Note", Graves explains why this was done on purpose), the dialogues are consistent and natural, and the main characters are complex creations. The plot is engaging though ‘frustrating’, because the villains almost always have the upper hand (but Claudius, a trained historian, would say that it’s just normal history, or normal life as he knew it). The world of the book is fascinating, though unpredictable and dangerous; you would lose faith in Roman society if it had not been for the existence of a very, very few conscientious characters who actually have some sort of moral code.
Most of Graves’ characters have historical counterparts. A few are either speculative or are invented. Meeting historical figures is always exciting, but a word of advice to the reader: don’t trust anyone and don’t get too attached to any character. The people you sympathize with are probably all going to be done away with sooner or later.