I, Claudius

Written as an autobiography, I, Claudius tells the tale of the nobleman Claudius, who is abhorred for his physical infirmities and viewed by his family as little more than a stuttering fool. The mask of idiocy ultimately serves him well: viewed as too insignificant to bother with, Claudius quietly survives the cruelties, intrigues, and bloody purges of the imperial Roman dynasties. From the sidelines, he observes the reigns of its emperors, from the wise Augustus and his wicked wife Li…