I, Claudius is a historical novel written by Robert Graves and published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC to Caligula's assassination in AD 41. Though the narrative is largely fictionalised, most of the events depicted are drawn from historical accounts of the same time period by the Roman historians Suetonius and Tacitus. No. 1 on The New York Times Fiction best seller list for 1 week, from the issue of July 23, 1934. Wiki link