The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire Entertainingly Told in Twelve Episodes

One day last week, I was checking out the recently acquired DVDs on the shelves where we display the newest ones that come in.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that we now have the 35th anniversary edition of one of my favorite series that was broadcast on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre back in the '70s--I, Claudius.  I loved the series when it was first shown in 1977 so much that I watched it when it was rerun a few years later. I'm now watching it for a third time.  Although the series is a stage production, it's still as riveting today as before. The acting, dialog (I get a kick out of the black humor), and writing are superb.  The sets aren't as lavish as those you'd see in a drama today, but the tale of ambition, debauchery, intrigue, and outlandishness behavior more than make up for the lack of sophisticated backdrops.

For those of you aren't acquainted this epic BBC series, it spans the history of the Roman Empire from rulers Augustus, who came into power after Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, through Nero.  The story is mainly told by Claudius in the latter years of his reign.  He was thought by many to be the Claudian dynasty's fool because he stuttered, had a pronounced limp, and was socially awkward. But Claudius was no fool; he was very knowledgeable and learned early to "play the fool" in order to stay alive while other unfortunate family members died at an young age. His ambitious grandmother, Livia, was evil personified. She had no qualms about offing her own children and step-grandchildren and instigating the banishment of other relatives in order to ensure her older son, Tiberius, succeeded her husband, Augustus, as emperor. One of my favorite lines refers to Livia: "They say a snake bit her once--and died."

The series, which won an Emmy and numerous other awards, is based on two novels by Robert Graves.  I read the first book, I, Claudius (1934), several years ago but not the sequel, Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina (1935).  (I just checked it out of Folsom Library and plan to start it as soon as I finish Cloudland, an intricately wroven and moving murder mystery by Joseph Olshan that I have a feeling is going to keep me up tonight.) 

I'm sure Graves took poetic license and fabricated some of the story (and of course the dialog), but I read that he did spend a lot of time researching this period in Rome's history. Some of the crazy things that happened in the series probably did happen in some form or another.

I want to thank lnformation Technology Librarian Matt Benzing, who is on the library's Collection Development Committee, for suggesting the library purchase this excellent historical drama.


Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of Folsom Library

A Note from a Friend

Longtime Friend Steven Smith, who lives in Camden, Maine, e-mailed me last week and said I could share this with all of our Friends:

Hello Adrienne,

"Related Tidbit" Department:  I frequently log onto the website of The Guardian in London. I noticed this morning that Anne Enright's novel The Forgotten Waltz is one of five on the Guardian Bookshop's bestseller list for this week.

Here's the link to The Guardian: 

http://www.guardiannews.com/  At upper left on the paper's home page, there's a tab you can use to toggle between the U.S. and UK. editions.

Steven

Thanks, Steven.  I have The Forgotten Waltz and want to read it before going to hear Anne Enright speak on April 18th, but I've got to finish reading Granville Hicks' Small Town before this Friday.  That's the day Bob Mayo is presenting the Lunch & Learn program on Hicks. And then there's Jodi Picoult's latest, Lone Wolf, I'm dying to get to.  So many books to read and not enough time! 

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library

Author Anne Enright on Campus April 18th


As Friends has done in the past, the group has contributed $250 toward the McKinney Writing Contest, Rensselaer's annual writing competition administered by the Department of Language, Literature, and Communication. The contest is open to all enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, and monetary prizes are presented to the winners. What's also nice is that the awards are bestowed upon the winners by a well-known writer at the awards ceremony. 

 

This year's awards will be presented on Wednesday, April 18th, in the Biotech Auditorium, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. The guest writer is Anne Enright, who won the 2007 Man Booker Prize for her novel The Gathering.  She also has published essays, short stories, a non-fiction book, and several other novels. The Irish author's writing explores themes such as family relationships, love and sex, and Ireland's difficult past.  Her latest novel is The Forgotten Waltz (2011). Enright will read from one of her works at 8:00 pm and then award prizes to this year's contest recipients. A reception will follow.  The reading/ceremony is free and open to the public.

Again this year, Friends is covering one-half the cost of the first 100 softcover copies of the McKinney Contests author/speaker's books sold in the campus bookstore (during regular store hours) to enrolled students, staff, faculty, and Friends.  Enright's The Gathering and The Forgotten Waltz are the books for sale.  Enright will be available to sign them after the ceremony.  For more information, see http://www.llc.rpi.edu/pl/mckinney-contest-speaker.

      Dr. Samuel P. McKinney

I didn't realize this, but in doing a little research I discovered that the McKinney contest has been occurring every year since 1941, thanks to Dr. Samuel McKinney who graduated from the Institute in 1884.  After his retirement from medicine, the good doctor became interested in what Rensselaer was doing in the liberal arts area.  Because he felt that more should be done to recognize Rensselaer students' communication skills, McKinney established an endowment in honor of his deceased wife that would provide acknowledgement and monetary awards to students who exhibited talent in various writing genres.  Since the beginning, faculty in the Department of Language, Literature, and Communication have overseen and judged the contest.


Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library