Count Belisarius

by Robert Graves

Hardcover, 1938

Status

Available

Call number

823.912

Genres

Collection

Gifts

Publication

Random House (1938), Edition: First Edition, 564 pages

Description

The sixth century was not a peaceful time for the Roman empire. Invaders threatened on all fronties, but they grew to respect and fear the name of Belisarius, the Emperor Justinian's greatest general. With this book Robert Graves again demonstrates his command of a vast historical subject, creating a startling and vivid picture of a decadent era.

User reviews

LibraryThing member varielle

Belsarius was a leading general during the rule of Justinian and Theodora. The historical research required to create this fictional narrative was superb, as would be expected for anything Graves has written. The point of view was that of the eunuch who served Belsarius' wife. This gave it a

feeling of dispassionate, remoteness rather than a story that was lived and experienced. If one is reading for historic detail, this is an excellent work. If one is looking for more interesting historic fiction turn to Graves' I, Claudius, Claudius the God or Wife to Mr. Milton.

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LibraryThing member xnfec

I never really appreciated the Claudius books, finding them too academic in tone with too many footnotes etc. Count Belisarius on the otherhand is much more approachable giving you a flavour of the early byzantine period and a great adventure as well

LibraryThing member otterley

I've always been fascinated by the Byzantine empire, and this book gives an insight into one of its most lively times and some of its biggest characters - in Justinian and Theodora, perhaps those most familiar to a modern audience through the mosaics at Ravenna, Justinian's legal reforms and the

scurrilous stories of Procopious. Graves writes this as an autobiography by the eunuch to the wife of Belisarius, undeniably one of the great military geniuses of all time. The first person narrator is not particularly vividly depicted, and for most of the time this simply reads as a straight historical narrative, moving forwards magisterially through Belisarius' life, full of incident and episode, at times painful, at times triumphant. It's interesting to move to other histories of the time, for example [John Julius Norwich], to see that Graves makes some very deliberate choices of emphasis and nuance in how we see the impeccable Belisarius and the wily Justinian, where perhaps there is room for more ambiguity. I must confess to preferring [Mary Renault] as a historical novelist; more lively, more vivid, much more personal - but this is a fascinating and engaging read nonetheless

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LibraryThing member RMMee

A good read. But not as good as I thought it would be. There is no doubting Graves' attention to historical accuracy, and his descriptions of ancient warfare and tactics were fascinating. But it lacked a deeper insight into the personalities of the principal characters. Part of this, I think, is

because the narrator is, for much of the story, not a direct player in the events, so there can be less characterisation.

That said, I would certainly recommend the book, and was always keen to find out "what happened next"!

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LibraryThing member HadriantheBlind

Belisarius was a tragic hero, deserving of the title "The Last Roman". An honest and principled man, who reconquered Rome and Carthage with a miniscule force, and died, according to legend, a blind beggar, fallen to the intrigues of the Byzantine court.

Graves, who is no slouch when it comes to

historical fiction, does well here. He does his research on an all too obscure period of history, and writes a gripping novel. Detailed yet energetic.

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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend

Count Belisarius was the last general of the Roman empire to be given a Triumph. His reconquests of North Africa, and Sicily in the 530's CE were the high mark of the reign of Justinian I. His wife was an intimate of the Empress Theodora, and he shows well in history, having also defended the

empire from invasions by the Persians and the Huns.
Utilizing the fact that the historian Procopius was employed by Belisarius as a secretary, Robert Graves has written this fictionalized biography with skill. It's a little short on sex, but is in the format that the later novelist, Alfred Duggan would bring to perfection.
Read twice.

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LibraryThing member William345

Robert Graves's models 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 against 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'll 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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LibraryThing member janerawoof

Cast in the form of a chronicle/memoir, written by Eugenius, the eunuch servant of Belisarius's wife, Antonina, this purports to tell the story of Count [Generalissimo] Belisarius, of the Eastern Roman army in the days of Justinian and Theodora, 6th century AD. It begins with the boy Belisarius and

reveals his quick-thinking at so young an age. Becoming general, he cuts a wide swath through North Africa, Roman cities in Italy and Sicily. We see his tactical and strategic genius. He also deals with machinations at the court of Justinian and Theodora set against the broader history of that period.

The style was stilted, using pseudo-Victorian language. This put me off somewhat. The first few chapters introduced the characters and gave them personalities in broad strokes. The book was more interesting from Belisarius's quelling of the Nika [Victory] Riots, through his battles to regain the Western Roman Empire and final fate: 350+ pages or so. I could not get close to any of them; writing was mere reporting of facts as Eugenius remembered them. I believe much was taken from Procopius, historian who appears in the story. What he wrote we can't trust completely; the man had his own agenda.

Recommended, as a classic of the 6th century.

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LibraryThing member TheIdleWoman

Having enjoyed Graves's Claudius novels, I decided to have a go at this book, set in the reign of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. Graves has distilled the official histories of the time, and more gossipy works like Procopius' Secret History, to create a moving story about the ingratitude of

rulers. Large parts of the book are filled with descriptions of battles, but Graves writes very well and never allows them to become tedious. Besides, the Byzantine Empire certainly has a lot of colour to keep the interest up. The emperor Justinian came out of the whole thing extremely poorly. I don’t know how far Graves exaggerated his character, but I found him cowardly, ungrateful, blind, unstrategic, easily-misled, henpecked and generally flawed in every possible way; worst of all, he didn’t even have the sense to recognise that Belisarius was the one man in the Empire whom he could trust implicitly. It may be true, as some critics claim, that Belisarius is a little too good to be true; but nevertheless it's a convincing and powerful story of injustice, which is all the more moving because it is based on historical events.

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LibraryThing member kslade

Pretty good historical novel of a general in Byzantium in the early Christian era.

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