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I, CLAUDIUS together with CLAUDIUS THE GOD AND HIS WIFE MESSALINA [EACH INSCRIBED AND SIGNED]

by Graves, Robert

First edition

Price: $7,850.00
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Book description: London: Arthur Barker, 1934. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good/very good. THIS BOOK IS ELIGIBLE FOR A DISCOUNT OF UP TO 20% OFF THE PRICE SHOWN IN THIS LISTING FOR ORDERS PLACED ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 31, 2009. (Not available in combination with any other discounts.) Very Good copies of this exceedingly popular, best-selling, Robert Graves' work, each in a Very Good dust jacket. Each large volume has an opening crease to the spine, some spotting, and some rubbing and wear to the extremities. "I Claudius" has a small tear to the bottom of the spine. Each also has some light foxing to the early pages and "Claudius the God" to the terminal pages as well. There are no book plates nor any indicia of ownership. Each dust jacket is in Very Good condition with some chipping and light tears, and sunning to the spines. The dust jacket to "Claudius the God" has some light spotting as well. "I Claudius" is INSCRIBED, SIGNED, DATED, AND PLACED on the title page as follows: "With best Claudian / wishes / Robert Graves / Deya Majorca / SPAIN / -1975-". (Deya was the Graves' family residence in Spain.) "Claudius the God" is INSCRIBED AND SIGNED on the verso of the half title under where there is preprinted "By the same Author / I, Claudius". Beneath these preprinted words Graves has written: "Alter Claudius ego / tibi scripsit- / Robert Graves". The inscription means: "The other, I Claudius for you he wrote", indicating, perhaps, that these books were inscribed by Graves to someone meaningful to him. A pioneering work of historical fiction, the tale was written as though it were the autobiography Claudius, the fourth emperor of Rome who, in real history, (suffering from a number of disabilities: limping when he walked, stammering when he spoke, and exhibiting tics as well) was kept out of public view until is ascension in 1949. Though Graves later claimed to disdain the books, viewing them as having been written on a deadline when he was much in need of some money, the books were immensely popular immediately upon their publication and were awarded the 1934 James Tait Black Prize for fiction. The books were later adapted by the BBC into a television serial, I, Claudius, which also won awards and is today considered to be a high-water mark in the history of television. The books are among Graves' best-known works and it is interesting that his famed autobiography "Good-Bye to All That" was also written quickly and under a pressing need for money. Today, these pioneering novels are considered masterpieces of historical fiction. While these books are not especially scarce, the dust jackets are uncommon, signed copies are scarce indeed, and inscribed copies are rare. A Very Good set INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY ROBERT GRAVES.

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