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