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Original Title: Count Belisarius
ISBN: 0374517398 (ISBN13: 9780374517397)
Edition Language: English URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Belisarius
Characters: Belisarius, Eugenius, Justinian, Theodora I, Antonina
Setting: Rome,537(Italy) Byzantine Empire
Literary Awards: Prix Femina Vie Heureuse Anglais (1939)
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Count Belisarius Paperback | Pages: 576 pages
Rating: 4.03 | 1854 Users | 139 Reviews

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Robert Graves's sources for Count Belisarius include some of the great historical works of classical antiquity: Livy, Thucydides, Herodotus, and certainly Xenophon in the Persian war sections. The novel is set in the sixth century of our era. Belisarius is perhaps the last loyal general the Roman Empire can still count on. He is deeply Christian (Orthodox) but with an admirable tolerance for divergent views (Arianism, Monophysitism, etc.). He is also a military leader of genius. The accounts of his successes in Persia, Carthage, and Italy, are depicted at length. The Seige of Rome by an Ostrogoth army ten times the size of Belisarius's own constitutes a set piece of extraordinary brilliance. If you like any of the classical histories mentioned, you will like this book. Be advised, however, that it tends to be better written than its models--or, I should say, than the English translations of those models that I have read. I wanted to read it because I liked the lethal palace intrigue so abundant in I, Claudius. That's here alright but the ramp up is longish. The first bits of intrigue don't begin until p. 102 of this edition; the backstabbing politics in earnest not until p. 150. But then hold on to your hoody because the last 300 pages are wonderful.

The book is narrated by Eugenius, the eunuch slave of Antonina, the entertainer and prostitute whom we first meet at a soiree given by the fourteen year old Belisarius's tutor. The Empress herself, Theodora, also a former prostitute, is an old friend of Antonina. In their youth they clubbed together with other girls and opened a brothel in Adrianople. Emperor Justinian, who met his empress in that house of pain, Graves's depicts as not very smart and easily led by those motivated almost solely by self interest. They ruthlessly smear Belisarius's squeaky-clean reputation and eventually succeed in driving this brilliant man from Justinian's good graces. I can't begin to hint at the intrigue and casuistry on display here. The sheer cruelty and malice. The incompetence, usually driven by jealousy, of Belisarius's generals. You simply must read it for yourself. Suffice it to say that the last 300 pages are on a par with I, Claudius and somewhat better in my view than Claudius the God. I think Graves's may have wanted to provide a more in-depth opening since details of the late Roman Empire are less well known than those of the classical period. That's my guess, anyway. Exuberantly recommended despite the slow start, especially for lovers of the historical novel.

This beautiful edition was produced by The Folio Society (London).

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Title:Count Belisarius
Author:Robert Graves
Book Format:Paperback
Book Edition:Special Edition
Pages:Pages: 576 pages
Published:October 1st 1982 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (first published 1938)
Categories:Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Literature. Novels

Rating Regarding Books Count Belisarius
Ratings: 4.03 From 1854 Users | 139 Reviews

Write-Up Regarding Books Count Belisarius
Incredible - especially for those who like Roman / Byzantine history. Worth reading also to get a good impression of "perfect man" of early Medieval period.

I ended up quite liking it, but it took a long time to come alive. To begin with, it was more like a slightly fictionalised history book rather than an historical novel. It is narrated by Eugenius, a eunuch slave of Belisarius' wife, Antonina. Once Eugenius starts relating to events he was involved in, the book becomes more entertaining. It was quite an interesting epoch. It was the Dark Ages in Britain, but the Byzantine and Persian empires were still thriving. This was before the Muslim

Tougher than the Claudius books, but worth the effort.

Re-reading this amazing fictionalized account of one of my favorite periods of history. Graves' narrative is amazingly compelling and fluid. Everyone should read this book!



A brilliant telling of the story of the last roman hero, count Belisarius, the savior of what remained of the Roman Empire in Constantine's time and how he was betrayed by the devious but weak emperor Justinian and his harlot wife Theodora. How he was eventually blinded by the jealous emperor and ended as a pauper in the streets of the city he had saved from the Vandals and other barbarians. Although not as good as I Claudius and Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina, it is as good as Gore

I read this (at least twice) years ago and I'm currently reading it again, but in the luxurious Folio Society's just-released edition. If you truly love books, the binding, the generosity of the paper and margins, the typesetting and typography, the Folio Society (of Britain) is for you. But you need deep pockets, the production values mean they are rarely cheap.Reviews for Robert Graves' Count Belisarius at the time were mixed; some felt it didn't live up to his two Claudius novels, and it is