Author Description

(Claudius #1) Physically weak, afflicted with stammering, and inclined to drool, Claudius is considered an idiot because of his physical infirmities, is an embarrassment to his family, and is shunted to the background of imperial affairs. The benefits of his seeming ineffectuality are twofold: he becomes a scholar and historian, and he is spared the worst cruelties inflicted on the imperial family by its own members during the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. Palace intrigues and murders surround him. Claudius' informal narration serves to emphasize the banality of the imperial family's endless greed and lust. Claudius survived the intrigues and poisonings to become emperor in 41 AD.