Most Popular Books by Robert Graves

Robert Graves'' ''Over the Brazier'' is a collection of war poems that vividly portrays the horrors of World War I through powerful imagery and poignant language. Written in a style reminiscent of the war poets of the early 20th century, Graves captures the raw emotion and brutality of conflict in each verse. The poems in the collection provide a unique perspective on the psychological and emotional toll of war on soldiers, offering a haunting portrayal of the human experience amidst the chaos of battle. ''Over the Brazier'' stands as a testament to the enduring impact of war on the individual and society as a whole. Robert Graves, a veteran of World War I himself, drew upon his own experiences and observations to craft this collection, infusing each poem with a sense of authenticity and depth. His intimate knowledge of war lends a compelling authenticity to the poems, allowing readers to glimpse the true cost of conflict. Recommended for those interested in exploring the profound impact of war on the human psyche, ''Over the Brazier'' is a poignant and evocative collection that resonates with readers long after the final page.

An accessible anthology of the greatest ancient Greek myths and legends for readers of all ages by the celebrated classicist and historical novelist. According to the myths, gods and goddesses of ancient Greece lived on Mount Olympus and ruled the world of mortals. Famous heroes shaped the course of history, beautiful women drew the gazes of gods and men alike, and the gods were both fickle in their favors and breathtakingly generous to those they smiled upon. From Midas’s tragic gift to the exploits of Hercules and the curse of Pandora, Robert Graves brings the legends of ancient Greece to life in a way that’s sure to appeal to everyone; from children to adults, and from casual readers to serious scholars. “Directly told, with no attempt to oversimplify them, a good deal of the symbolism and the association with the pattern of ancient Greece survives.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review).

This work examines poetry from a psychological point of view.

This ancient biographical history of Roman rulers from Julius Caesar to Domitian is translated by the acclaimed classicists and author of I, Claudius. As personal secretary to Emperor Hadrian, the second century scholar Suetonius had unlimited access to the Roman Imperial archives. Drawing on this wealth of source material, he wrote a sweeping account of the lives of Rome’s first twelve emperors. From the empire’s most accomplished leaders, such as Julius Caesar and Augustus, to its most depraved and doomed rulers, such as Caligula and Nero, this ancient biographical study presents an enlightening and colorful picture of these historical figures from remote antiquity. This edition of The Twelve Caesars is translated from the Latin by the renowned classicist, historian, and historical novelist Robert Graves. With his expertise in classical history and talent for telling a lively story, Graves presents an excellent translation that makes this classic work accessible to modern audiences

Translated from the Latin by the poet and author of I, Claudius, this ancient Roman novel follows the many adventures of a man who transforms into an ass. Driven by his all-consuming curiosity, a young man of good parentage named Lucius Apuleius takes a trip to Thessaly. Along the way, amidst a series of bizarre adventures, he inadvertently offends a priestess of the White Goddess, who promptly turns him into an ass. How Lucius responds to his new misfortune, and ultimately finds a way to become human again, makes for a funny and fascinating tale. The Metamorphosis of Apuleius, referred to by St. Augustine as The Golden Ass, is the oldest novel written in Latin to survive in its entirety. Originally written by Lucius of Patrae, this translation by Robert Graves highlights the ribald humor and vivid sense of adventure present in the original. Providing a rare window into the daily lives of regular people in ancient Greece, Robert Graves’s translation of this classic tale is at once hilarious, informative, and captivating.

The White Goddess is perhaps the finest of Robert Graves''s works on the psychological and mythological sources of poetry. In this tapestry of poetic and religious scholarship, Graves explores the stories behind the earliest of European deities—the White Goddess of Birth, Love, and Death—who was worshipped under countless titles. He also uncovers the obscure and mysterious power of "pure poetry" and its peculiar and mythic language.

The real story of T. E. Lawrence’s life as told by the author of I, Claudius. “A combination of history, biography, and . . . an amazingly human tale” (Boston Evening Transcript). Immortalized in the film Lawrence of Arabia, the real T. E. Lawrence was a leader, a war strategist, and a scholar, and is here immortalized in an intimate biography written by his close friend, the award-winning British novelist, poet and classicist Robert Graves. As a student at Oxford, T. E. Lawrence was fascinated with Middle Eastern history and culture, and underwent a four-month visit to Syria to study the fortifications built by the crusaders. Later, he returned to the region, this time as an archaeologist working with the British Army’s Intelligence unit in Egypt during World War I. From there, in 1916, he joined Arab rebels fighting against Turkish domination. His brilliance as a desert war tactician earned him the respect of the Turkish fighters and worldwide renown. “Interesting and informative.” —New York Herald Tribune “[Mr. Graves] has done his job admirably and without any too obvious excesses of hero worship.” —New Statesman “[Readers] will consult Mr. Graves for information about this man.” —The New Republic

Considered an idiot because of his physical infirmities, Claudius survived the intrigues and poisonings of the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and the Mad Caligula to become emperor in 41 A.D. A masterpiece. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Though he lived most of his life in the remote village of Deya on the island of Mallorca, Robert Graves (1895--1985) was conversant with the most important issues of this century and was acquainted with many of the most powerful people. Jorge Luis Borges called him "a soul above." Graves wrote almost restlessly on subjects of great diversity: myths of the Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, and Celts; modern science and economics; contemporary society and culture as well as of ancient Greece and Rome, of Celtic Wales and Ireland, of the time of Milton, and of the American Revolution. He was a poet of great fame, a celebrated writer of historical novels, and the man who imprinted the name and identity of the White Goddess upon the cultural language. His translations of Latin classics have been applauded; his recastings of Biblical and Persian texts attracted irascible attention from scholars. He was a poet of great fame, a celebrated writer of historical novels, and the man who imprinted the name and identity of the White Goddess upon the cultural language. His translations of Latin classics have been applauded; his recastings of Biblical and Persian texts attracted irascible attention from scholars.

The poet’s “account of trench life . . . still grips the reader,” making his WWI memoir “a classic of English autobiography, and a subversive tour de force” (The Guardian). Goodbye to All That is English poet and soldier Robert Graves’s “bitter leave-taking” of England after his experiences during World War I. A testimony to the shifts in society following the war, the book offers an unsentimental and often satiric account of life as a British Army officer facing the intensity of battle, as well as the personal history that led to his becoming a poet. Finding refuge in Majorca, Graves wrote Goodbye to All That in eleven weeks. His accounts of trench warfare and his descriptions of war atrocities incited controversy, making the book a literary sensation and funding Graves’s vow to “never make England my home again.” Consisting of Graves’s memorable encounters with fellow writers and poets such as Siegfried Sassoon and Thomas Hardy, and the changing societal views on married life, Goodbye to All That, is a classic war memoir and a candid portrait of artistic life.

The author of I, Claudius puts his own twist on the myth of the Argonauts’ quest for the Golden Fleece: “A tour de force . . . A richly tapestried epic” (Kirkus Reviews). An inventive reimagining of the story of Jason and the Argonauts, this novel by renowned poet and classicist Robert Graves brings heroic figures of Hellenistic myth to life. Graves’s Jason is belligerent, energetic, and full of life, and the society Graves builds for him is outlandish and deeply invested in ancient cults. Against this primitive, religious backdrop, the charismatic Jason assembles a crew and sets out to retrieve the sacred gold-trimmed fleece that is sacred to Zeus, and that has been stolen by worshippers of the Triple Goddess. Accompanying him is Hercules, a brave warrior known more for his brawn, and his astonishingly good luck, than his brains. Robert Graves builds a compelling world that sets Hellenistic magic and mystery in a surprisingly gritty, realistic setting, a fascinating read for fans of Greek mythology. “A witty historical novel with much insider’s lore on cult and ritual.” —The New York Review of Books “Richly readable, thoroughly classical yet individually interpreted, this is a labor of love important to students, culture-seekers and readers.” —Library Journal

"The objects of this autobiography, written at the age of thirty-three, are simple enough: an opportunity for a formal good-bye to you and to you and to you and to me and to all that; forgetfulness, because once all this has been settled in my mind and written down and published it need never be thought about again; money". Thus begins Robert Graves''s classic 1929 autobiography with its searing account of life in the trenches of the First World War; and yet this opening passage, together with much significant material, has been unavailable since 1957, when a middle-aged Graves totally revised his text, robbing it of the painfully raw edge that had helped to make it an international bestseller. By 1957 major changes in his private life had taken place. Graves was no longer living with the American poet Laura Riding, under whose influence and in whose honor the original had been written. By cutting out all references to Riding, by deleting passages which revealed the mental strains under which he had labored, and by meticulously editing the entire text, Graves destroyed most of what had made it so powerful but also removed it from the only context in which it could be fully understood. We are pleased to offer the original 1929 edition on the occasion of Graves''s 100th anniversary, edited and annotated by Robert Graves''s nephew and biographer, whose lucid introduction greatly enhances its value.

Endymion, Pelops, Daedalus, Pygmalion � what are the stories behind these and the hundreds of other familiar names from Greek mythology � names that recur throughout the history of European culture? In a two-volume work that has become a classic reference book for both the serious scholar and the casual inquirer, Robert Graves retells the adventures of the important gods and heroes worshipped by the ancient Greeks. Drawing on an enormous range of sources, he has brought together all the elements of every myth in simple narrative form, supplying detailed cross-references and indexes. Each entry has a full commentary which examines problems of interpretation in both historical and anthropological terms, and in the light of contemporary research.

"The Odyssey has been described as a ''women''s'' epic, full of female characters and different in kind and colour from the Iliad with its tight focus and its largely male world. Graves''s Nausicaa is a brilliant story-teller. She is a princess of mixed ancestry, combining in herself the various cultures that inform the language and folklore of the epic. She lives in a Greek-Trojan settlement in Sicily some time after the Trojan War. Graves makes it possible for us to believe that she tells her own, true story, buried within Homer''s epic. There is adventure and intrigue; the book stands near the beginning of a tradition that includes Leonardo Sciascia''s The Council of Egypt and Umberto Eco''s The Name of the Rose. Nausicaa is smart and resilient. She solves the mystery of her brother''s disappearance, then organises a counterplot, recalling Odysseus''s bloody, triumphal return to Ithaca."--BOOK JACKET.

Swashbuckling historical fiction from the author of I, Claudius. “A cleverly balanced mixture of spice, fact, humor and adventure on and off the high seas” (Kirkus Reviews). Set in the Age of Exploration, The Islands of Unwisdom tells the story of the ill-fated Don Álvaro de Mendaña y Neyra, a Spanish explorer set on finding the Solomon Islands, the mythical source of King Solomon’s vast wealth. Driven by greed, ambition, and lust, Don Alvaro and his wife, the beautiful and dangerous Ysabel, lead a crew of adventurers beyond the horizon in search of the wealth of their wildest dreams. However, that’s not exactly what they find. In the hands of master historical novelist, classicist, and poet Robert Graves, this tale offers a fascinating look at a brutal and bloody era, and insights into the reasons for Spain’s failure to ultimately dominate world exploration during this time.

“Both the knowledge of a scholar and the imagination of a poet are brought to bear upon Jesus as child, boy, and man. . . . A bold speculative adventure” (Harold Brighouse, Manchester Guardian). In Robert Graves’s unique retelling, Jesus is very much a mortal and the grandson of King Herod the Great. When his father runs afoul of the king’s temper and is executed, Jesus is raised in the house of Joseph the Carpenter. The kingdom he is heir to, in this version of the story, is very much a terrestrial one: the Kingdom of Judah. Graves tells of Jesus’s rise as a philosopher, scriptural scholar, and charismatic speaker in sharp detail, as well as his arrest and downfall as a victim of pitiless Roman politics. Bringing together his unparalleled narrative skill and in-depth expertise in historical scholarship, renowned classicist and historical novelist Robert Graves brings the story of Jesus Christ to life in a strikingly unorthodox way, making this one of the most hotly contested novels Graves ever wrote—and possibly one of the most controversial ever written. It provides a fascinating new twist to a well-known story, one that fans of this historical period are sure to love. “This is not reading for the easily shocked; it definitely presents Jesus as a sage and a [poet], if not divine. It moves, as does all Mr. Graves’ writing, at a brilliant fast pace, and with a tremendous style.” —Kirkus Reviews

First published in the 1400s, these classic tales of King Arthur, Camelot, and adventures of the Knights of the Round Table are translated and presented in this edition that features a new introduction written by Nobel Prize nominee Robert Graves (I, Claudius).

In this sequel to I, Claudius, the story of the Roman Emperor—on which the award-winning BBC TV series was based—continues . . . In I, Claudius, Robert Graves began the story of the limping, stammering young man who is suddenly thrust onto the throne after the death of Caligula. In Claudius the God, Graves continues the story, detailing Claudius’s thirteen-year reign and his ultimate downfall. Painting the vivid, tumultuous, and decadent society of ancient Rome with spectacular detail, Graves provides a tale that is instructive, compelling, and difficult to put down for both casual readers and students of Roman history.

A collection of essays by the author of "The White Goddess," linked together by some common assumptions regarding the nature of poetry. The title of the book, according to the writer, "is shorthand for saying that the popular view of what poetry is, or ought to be, has for centuries been based on sentimental misapprehensions."

Robert Graves'' "The Feather Bed" represents a captivating literary work, where the prose is imbued with rich textures akin to the intricacy of lacework and the comfort suggested by the title. Graves, known for his intellectual depth and poetic prowess, crafts a narrative that is both intimate and universal, exploring themes of love, loss, and the human condition. This edition by DigiCat Publishing breathes new life into Graves'' legacy, ensuring that the nuanced articulations of his literary style remain enshrined within the literary context. The fidelity to Graves'' original vision and the modern format make this edition both a testament to its time and a continuous source of insight for contemporary readers. In the tapestry of twentieth-century literature, Robert Graves stands out as an erudite and profoundly influential figure. His background as a poet, classical scholar, and novelist informs the texture of "The Feather Bed," reflecting an eclectic blend that echoes his multifaceted literary persona. The impetus for Graves'' work often lies in his experiences, especially his service in World War I, which not only influenced his poetry but also his prose. The personal philosophy and mythic elements that pervade his writing suggest an author engaging with not just the narrative at hand but also with the larger narrative of human experience. "The Feather Bed" is recommended for aficionados of literary art seeking complex emotional and intellectual resonance within a narrative. Graves'' work has the unique ability to transport readers across temporal and spatial boundaries, while also provoking contemplation about universal themes. This edition promises to offer an enriching reading experience for those who appreciate the delicate craft of storytelling and the profound capacity of literature to capture the ineffable qualities of life''s tapestry.

The I, Claudius author’s “lightning sharp interpretations and insights . . . are here brought to bear with equal effectiveness on the Book of Genesis” (Kirkus Reviews). This is a comprehensive look at the stories that make up the Old Testament and the Jewish religion, including the folk tales, apocryphal texts, midrashes, and other little-known documents that the Old Testament and the Torah do not include. In this exhaustive study, Robert Graves provides a fascinating account of pre-Biblical texts that have been censored, suppressed, and hidden for centuries, and which now emerge to give us a clearer view of Hebrew myth and religion than ever. Venerable classicist and historian Robert Graves recounts the ancient Hebrew stories, both obscure and familiar, with a rich sense of storytelling, culture, and spirituality. This book is sure to be riveting to students of Jewish or Judeo-Christian history, culture, and religion.