Section I, ch. 1-3 Summary

Claudius the God and his Wife Messalina by Robert Graves is the sequel to I, Claudius. It is an autobiography accounting the actions and misfortunes of the Roman emperor, Claudius. Graves portrays Claudius as a sympathetic character rather than the bumbling idiot that he is seen as throughout history. Claudius the God and his Wife Messalina provides an insight into ancient Roman politics through a sympathetic character who makes many mistakes but never maliciously.

Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanius survives his relatives and is crowned sovereign of Rome at age fifty. Although he is reluctant to rule, refusal would mean the death of himself, his wife, Messalina, and their unborn child. His story is written to justify the course he has taken in his thirteen years of power. The story of Herod Agrippa, the Jewish King, runs...