I, Claudius and the sequel Claudius the God form a continuous narrative of Emperor Claudius's life and times.

Graves studied hard before writing these books. As early as 1929, he had been interested in Ancient Rome's Emperor Claudius, and he already had a generalized knowledge of the period in which I, Claudius is set. Once he had decided to write the novel, Graves carefully researched Claudius's era, steeping himself not only in the historical events, such as wars and assassinations, but in the everyday life of Roman society. He wanted the background of the novel to seem real to his readers by presenting an accurate account of how the Romans lived.

The Roman society of I, Claudius is disintegrating. The once proudly free Roman people have surrendered their political liberties to first Emperor Augustus Caesar and then to his successors. Absolute power is wielded mercilessly by the...