GRAVES, Robert
I, Claudius
Paradine Press, [1977]
8vo., full purple morocco, with decorative romanesque square borders to both boards, upper board gilt stamped with a Claudian coin and facsimile signature beneath; five raised bands to spine, ruled in gilt with lettering direct to the second and fourth compartments; all edges gilt, with single-ruled gilt turn ins and pale grey endpapers; the title and limitation pages printed in purple on the same paper stocks; pp. [iv], v-vi, [i], 2-281, [iii]; with folding chart showing the tree of the imperial family to AD.41 facing p. 280; fine, in the original matching slipcase which has a couple of very small dark scuffs but otherwise also fine.
Limited edition, one of just 100 copies hand numbered and signed by Robert Graves to a special tipped-in limitation page. This copy no. 26. Published in 1977 after the overwhelming success of the television series starring Derek Jacobi, Sian Phillips, John Hurt, Brian Blessed and Patrick Stewart, this limited edition follows the text of the original 1934 first.
Using classical sources recommended to him by Eirlys Roberts, Graves’ famous work constructs a narrative of the life of Roman Emperor Claudius, and frames it in the form of an autobiography. The work begins with the historical events leading up to the emperor’s birth, including Caesar’s assassination, and continues through the reign of Augustus until Claudius is born, at which point the story picks up from his upbringing, education, the accession of Tiberius and his turbulent reign, and the unlikely series of events which lead up to Claudius becoming emperor. Graves followed the work in 1935 with Claudius the God, covering the period from his accession to his death in AD 54.
Widely regarded today as pioneering works of historical fiction, Graves went on to win the James Tait Black prize for fiction in 1934, and in 1976 the BBC adaptation was released, going on to win three BAFTAs and an Emmy.
This edition is one of the most desirable on the market, in the fine binding by Paradine Press.
“‘There are two different ways of writing history: one is to persuade men to virtue and the other is to compel men to truth”.
GRAVES, Robert
I, Claudius
Paradine Press, [1977]
8vo., full purple morocco, with decorative romanesque square borders to both boards, upper board gilt stamped with a Claudian coin and facsimile signature beneath; five raised bands to spine, ruled in gilt with lettering direct to the second and fourth compartments; all edges gilt, with single-ruled gilt turn ins and pale grey endpapers; the title and limitation pages printed in purple on the same paper stocks; pp. [iv], v-vi, [i], 2-281, [iii]; with folding chart showing the tree of the imperial family to AD.41 facing p. 280; fine, in the original matching slipcase which has a couple of very small dark scuffs but otherwise also fine.
Limited edition, one of just 100 copies hand numbered and signed by Robert Graves to a special tipped-in limitation page. This copy no. 26. Published in 1977 after the overwhelming success of the television series starring Derek Jacobi, Sian Phillips, John Hurt, Brian Blessed and Patrick Stewart, this limited edition follows the text of the original 1934 first.
Using classical sources recommended to him by Eirlys Roberts, Graves’ famous work constructs a narrative of the life of Roman Emperor Claudius, and frames it in the form of an autobiography. The work begins with the historical events leading up to the emperor’s birth, including Caesar’s assassination, and continues through the reign of Augustus until Claudius is born, at which point the story picks up from his upbringing, education, the accession of Tiberius and his turbulent reign, and the unlikely series of events which lead up to Claudius becoming emperor. Graves followed the work in 1935 with Claudius the God, covering the period from his accession to his death in AD 54.
Widely regarded today as pioneering works of historical fiction, Graves went on to win the James Tait Black prize for fiction in 1934, and in 1976 the BBC adaptation was released, going on to win three BAFTAs and an Emmy.
This edition is one of the most desirable on the market, in the fine binding by Paradine Press.
“‘There are two different ways of writing history: one is to persuade men to virtue and the other is to compel men to truth”.
