I, Claudius: From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius Born 10 B.C. Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 is a modern classic of historical fiction written in the form of Claudius’s autobiography. Authored by Robert Graves, this landmark novel offers an intimate look into the tumultuous political landscape of ancient Rome during the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula. Despite being despised as a weakling and dismissed as an idiot due to his physical infirmities, Claudius managed to navigate the treacherous courts of power and eventually became emperor in 41 A.D. The first part of Graves’s two-part account, I, Claudius is a testament to its author’s prowess as one of the great writers of the 20th century.