This edition of Robert Graves’s poems is scrupulously selected from across the full range of his lifetime’s verse. It opens with an illuminating introduction in which Longley makes a persuasive case for the importance of this remarkable poet.

Robert Graves was one of our most fascinating poets of the last century. Born in London in 1895, he served in the First World War and was mistakenly reported killed in action at the Battle of the Somme, as he vividly recounted in his memoir, Goodbye To All That (1929). While serving in France, he befriended Siegfried Sassoon, and would be instrumental in saving Sassoon from the threat of court-martial that followed his declaration against the prolonging of the war. When Graves visited Sassoon at Craiglockhart Hospital he met Wilfred Owen, and for a time the three poets began to work closely in what Michael Longley, this volume’s editor, calls ‘a momentous coincidence of talent’.

Robert Graves died in 1985 and is commemorated Poets’ Corner at in Westminster Abbey.

Translated by ROBERT GRAVES
Revised with an Introduction and notes by JAMES B. RIVES

Claudius has survived the murderous intrigues of his predecessors to become, reluctantly, Emperor of Rome. Here he recounts his surprisingly successful reign: how he cultivates the loyalty of the army and the common people to repair the damage caused by Caligula; his relations with the Jewish King Herod Agrippa; and his invasion of Britain. But the growing paranoia of absolute power and the infidelity of his promiscuous young wife Messalina mean that his good fortune will not last forever. In this second part of Robert Graves’s fictionalized autobiography, Claudius – wry, rueful, always inquisitive – brings to life some of the most scandalous and violent times in history.

If you enjoyed Claudius the God, you might like Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.

‘I, Claudius and Claudius the God are an imaginative and hugely readable account of the early decades of the Roman Empire … racy, inventive, often comic’
Daily Telegraph

‘One of the really remarkable books of our day, a novel of learning and imagination, fortunately conceived and brilliantly executed’
The New York Times

‘Graves made Roman history funny and familiar’
Guardian

Bringing to life the intrigue of ancient Rome, Robert Graves’s I, Claudius is one of the most celebrated, gripping historical novels ever written

Despised for his weakness and regarded by his family as little more than a stammering fool, the nobleman Claudius quietly survives the bloody purges and mounting cruelty of the imperial Roman dynasties. In I, Claudius he watches from the sidelines to record the reigns of its emperors: from the wise Augustus and his villainous wife Livia to the sadistic Tiberius and the insane excesses of Caligula. Written in the form of Claudius’ autobiography, this is the first part of Robert Graves’s brilliant account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome.

With an introduction by Barry Unsworth

‘An imaginative and hugely readable account of the early decades of the Roman Empire … racy, inventive, often comic’ Daily Telegraph

In 1929 Robert Graves went to live abroad permanently, vowing ‘never to make England my home again’. This is his superb account of his life up until that ‘bitter leave-taking’: from his childhood and desperately unhappy school days at Charterhouse, to his time serving as a young officer in the First World War that was to haunt him throughout his life. It also contains memorable encounters with fellow writers and poets, including Siegfried Sassoon and Thomas Hardy, and covers his increasingly unhappy marriage to Nancy Nicholson. Goodbye to All That, with its vivid, harrowing descriptions of the Western Front, is a classic war document, and also has immense value as one of the most candid self-portraits of an artist ever written.

Robert Ranke Graves (1895-1985) was a British poet, novelist, and critic. He is best known for the historical novel I, Claudius and the critical study of myth and poetry The White Goddess. His autobiography, Goodbye to All That, was published in 1929, quickly establishing itself as a modern classic. Graves also translated Apuleius, Lucan and Suetonius for the Penguin Classics, and compiled the first modern dictionary of Greek Mythology, The Greek Myths. His translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (with Omar Ali-Shah) is also published in Penguin Classics.

If you enjoyed Goodbye to All That, you might like Ford Madox Ford’s Parade’s End, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.

‘His wonderful autobiography’
Jeremy Paxman, Daily Mail

‘Icarus disobeyed his father’s instructions and began soaring towards the sun, rejoiced by the lift of his great sweeping wings. Presently, when Daedalus looked over his shoulder, he could no longer see Icarus; but scattered feathers floated on the waves below…’

These are the greatest stories ever told – the labours of Hercules, the voyage of the Argonauts, Theseus and the minotaur, Midas and his golden touch, the Trojan War and Odysseus’s journey home – brought together into one epic and unforgettable story.

Ideal for the first time reader, it can be read as a single page-turning narrative, while full commentaries as well as a comprehensive index of names make it equally valuable for anyone seeking an authoritative and detailed account of the spectacular stories that make up the bedrock of Western literature.

The Greek Myths is a classic among classics, a treasure trove of extraordinary tales and a masterful work of literature in its own right.