Really enjoyed this one. A harrowing, unforgettable, and vastly entertaining insiders' guide to the lives of the heirs of the House of Caesar. Highly informative, great characters, never a dull moment—and you can see how it paved the way for other classic novelists of historical fiction, including Mary Renault and Gore Vidal.

Plenty of contemporary echoes, too, especially in Graves' indelible portrait of Caligula, a physical coward who loved pomp and military parades, a vain, cruel ruler wholly lacking in empathy, who surrounded himself with cowering yes-men and liked to play them against each another. A man who believed himself a literal god but also feared madness—and was mad. If you've ever thought about reading this one—and even if you've already seen the famous PBS series—do it. You won't regret it!