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Who‘s laughing now?…
Follows the same formula as I Claudius—same framing, same dry prose—but without a Caligula to stir things up, the results are less satisfying.
My knowledge of Roman nobility was pretty much nonexistent until recently. So, regardless of the slog that this book kinda was, I am glad to say that I am a more learned man for having read it. The audiobook includes some short historical biographies after Claudius‘s death, which was an unexpected bonus!
Claudius: What a mess. I think I'll tidy things up a bit before restoring the Republic.
Also, Claudius: The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. We don't need no water let the motherf***** burn.
My fellow readers.....hidden within the pages of the book is a foldout family tree of "The Royal Family of the Herods." ?
The start of the book is almost exclusively focused on the goings-on of Herod Agrippa et al. It's slow going as I'm finding it difficult to focus.
Book: Herod's granddad married 10 wives and 2 of them were his own nieces.
Me: But, what about Claudius?
Book: Herod's sister married 2 of Herod's uncle's.
Me: Mhmm. BUT, WHAT ABOUT CLAUDIUS?
Book: Herod owes a shit-ton of money. It's not looking too good for Herod.
Me: WHAT 👏 ABOUT 👏 CLAUDIUS 👏?!
More Claudius? Yes, please!
The school librarian scooped this copy out of storage for me. Apparently, this book hasn't been checked out in over 10 years. Now it's sharing selfies on Litsy. It catches on quick.
#kingsandqueensthisorthat
1. So difficult!I'll go with historical fiction.
2. Definitely yes to Fantasy
3. Fin-de-siecle Vienna, and the Tudors
4. Claudius, at least he tried. And he was the best of a dreadful bunch.
I love history and historical fiction and I am addicted to listchallenges.com. I have made a list of historical books that are not romances. I don‘t want my historical fiction to be a romance, and nowadays that seems a steep requirement. If you like history but don‘t like it to involve bodice ripping, check my list out.
http://www.listchallenges.com/history-and-historical-fiction-books-that-are
The Claudius books are my all-time faves.
#kingoftheworld #characters2017 @LibrarianRyan I am due for a re-read of the Claudius novels.