Search results for ""Author Robert Graves""

The definitive and comprehensive edition of Robert Graves's classic retelling of the Greek myths'Icarus disobeyed his father's instructions and began soaring towards the sun, rejoiced by the lift of his great sweeping wings. Presently, when Daedalus looked over his shoulder, he could no longer see Icarus; but scattered feathers floated on the waves below...'These are the greatest stories ever told - the labours of Hercules, the voyage of the Argonauts, Theseus and the minotaur, Midas and his golden touch, the Trojan War and Odysseus's journey home - brought together into one epic and unforgettable story. Ideal for the first time reader, it can be read as a single page-turning narrative, while full commentaries as well as a comprehensive index of names make it equally valuable for anyone seeking an authoritative and detailed account of the spectacular stories that make up the bedrock of Western literature.The Greek Myths is a classic among classics, a treasure trove of extraordinary tales and a masterful work of literature in its own right.

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An essential selection from the range and bulk of Robert Graves's poetry, edited by Ulster poet Michael Longley. This edition restores Graves to view as a major twentieth century poet, and demonstrates his manifold achievement as war poet, as love poet, and as - in the round - a secular visionary whose poems are 'inimitable, eccentric marvels - some of which are extraordinary, many are masterly, all are like nothing else ever written' (Randall Jarrell).This edition of Robert Graves's poems is scrupulously selected from across the full range of his lifetime's verse. It opens with an illuminating introduction in which Longley makes a persuasive case for the importance of this remarkable poet.

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This labyrinthine and extraordinary book, first published more than fifty years ago, was the outcome of Graves's vast reading and curious research into strange territories of folklore, mythology, religion and magic. Erudite and impassioned, it is a scholar-poet's quest for the meaning of European myths, a polemic about the relations between man and woman, and also an intensely personal document in which Graves explored the sources of his own inspiration and, as he believed, all true poetry.This new edition has been prepared by Grevel Lindop, who has written an illuminating introduction. The text of the book incorporates all Graves's final revisions, as well as his replies to two of the original reviewers, and a long essay in which he describes the months of inspiration in which The White Goddess was written.

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An autobiographical work that describes firsthand the great tectonic shifts in English society following the First World War, Robert Graves's Goodbye to All That is a matchless evocation of the Great War's haunting legacy, published in Penguin Modern Classics.In 1929 Robert Graves went to live abroad permanently, vowing 'never to make England my home again'. This is his superb account of his life up until that 'bitter leave-taking': from his childhood and desperately unhappy school days at Charterhouse, to his time serving as a young officer in the First World War that was to haunt him throughout his life. It also contains memorable encounters with fellow writers and poets, including Siegfried Sassoon and Thomas Hardy, and covers his increasingly unhappy marriage to Nancy Nicholson. Goodbye to All That, with its vivid, harrowing descriptions of the Western Front, is a classic war document, and also has immense value as one of the most candid self-portraits of an artist ever written.Robert Ranke Graves (1895-1985) was a British poet, novelist, and critic. He is best known for the historical novel I, Claudius and the critical study of myth and poetry The White Goddess. His autobiography, Goodbye to All That, was published in 1929, quickly establishing itself as a modern classic. Graves also translated Apuleius, Lucan and Suetonius for the Penguin Classics, and compiled the first modern dictionary of Greek Mythology, The Greek Myths. His translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (with Omar Ali-Shah) is also published in Penguin Classics.If you enjoyed Goodbye to All That, you might like Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'His wonderful autobiography'Jeremy Paxman, Daily Mail

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In Homer's Daughter Robert Graves recreates the Odyssey. This bold retelling of the ancient epic imagines that its author was not the blind and bearded Homer of legend, but a young woman in Western Sicily who calls herself Nausicaä. In Robert Graves's words, Homer's Daughter is 'the story of a high-spirited and religious-minded Sicilian girl who saves her father's throne from usurpation, herself from a distasteful marriage, and her two younger brothers from butchery by boldly making things happen, instead of sitting still and hoping for the best.'

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Fox Hollow Farm, the infamous Indiana property where Herb Baumeister allegedly murdered at least eleven men, has a grim past and an unsettling present. This riveting book pieces together the story of the tragic case and explores the paranormal encounters that continue to this day, delving into the psyche of a suspected murderer and the terrifying supernatural activity that lingers in the aftermath of such unspeakable evil. The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm provides detailed insights from the original criminal investigation as well as testimony from key witnesses, including the man who survived Herb s attempt on his life. This chilling book also features actual supernatural evidence, from EVPs and psychic confirmations to first-hand accounts of the disembodied hands and voices that regularly manifest on the estate.

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Goodbye to All That is Robert Graves' searing autobiography and an emotional first-hand account of life in the Great War trenches. A graphic storyteller, Graves begins with the petty cruelties of his public school upbringing. Then, almost in 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary style, he paints devastating portraits of war: of a young man's hell, of meaningless sacrifice, of everyday heroism, and of the idiocy of the military command. Even accomplishing some moments of humour, Goodbye to All That is an enthralling listen, bringing the listener into the midst of the battle. It is widely recognised as one of the most powerful insights into the trauma of war.Read by award-winning British stage, television and voice actor, Martin Jarvis

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The ever-popular novelist and story-teller Robert Graves wrote fascinating and durable stories, here collected together in a single volume for the first time by the poet's daughter Lucia Graves.

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'Still an acknowledged masterpiece and a model for historical fiction ... sympathetic and intensely involving: a great feat of imagination' Hilary Mantel Bringing to life the intrigue of ancient Rome, Robert Graves's I, Claudius is one of the most celebrated, gripping historical novels ever writtenDespised for his weakness and regarded by his family as little more than a stammering fool, the nobleman Claudius quietly survives the bloody purges and mounting cruelty of the imperial Roman dynasties. In I, Claudius he watches from the sidelines to record the reigns of its emperors: from the wise Augustus and his villainous wife Livia to the sadistic Tiberius and the insane excesses of Caligula. Written in the form of Claudius' autobiography, this is the first part of Robert Graves's brilliant account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome.With an introduction by Barry Unsworth'An imaginative and hugely readable account of the early decades of the Roman Empire ... racy, inventive, often comic' Daily Telegraph

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Robert Graves, aged nineteen, left school within a week of the outbreak of World War I, and immediately volunteered with the Royal Welch Fusiliers. His experiences as a junior officer form the heart of this compelling autobiography. Beginning with an ironic overview of his Edwardian childhood, he proceeds to a tongue-in-cheek account of a young poet's life at public school (not helpful to be half-German, but handy to take up boxing), progressing to caricatures of military stereotypes he encounters in training, and the devastating farce of the War itself, the blundering and mismanagement, and the appalling human consequences. Graves's handling of the horrors of war is always deadpan, honest and unadorned. It is wholly in line with his sense of the absurd that his commanding officer should write to inform his parents that he had died of wounds during the battle of the Somme. He soon found that patriotism was meaningless to the men in the trenches; loyalty to comrades alive and dead drove him back to active service though still suffering from shell-shock. Goodbye to All That takes Graves through his convalescence in England, his efforts to protect the poet Siegfried Sassoon, a friend and fellow officer, from the consequences of his public denunciation of the war; marriage to artist and feminist Nancy Nicholson, postwar undergraduate years at Oxford and a decade as a struggling writer with four young children, beset with money problems and neurasthenia. It is written in a spirit of defiance as he prepared to put 'all that' behind him and begin a new life in Majorca with the American poet Laura Riding.

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Robert Graves's classic retelling of the Greek Myths is definitive, comprehensive and unparalleled - and available now in the Penguin Classics Deluxe series, featuring a new introduction from Rick Riordan (bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and Olympian series).Including many of the greatest stories ever told - the labours of Hercules, the voyage of the Argonauts, Theseus and the minotaur, Midas and his golden touch, the Trojan War and Odysseus's journey home - Robert Graves's superb and comprehensive retelling of the Greek myths for a modern audience has been regarded for over fifty years as the definitive version. With a novelist's skill and a poet's eye, Graves draws on the entire canon of ancient literature, bringing together all the elements of every myth into one epic and unforgettable story. Ideal for the first time reader, it can be read as a single, continuous narrative, while full commentaries, with cross-references, interpretations, variants and explanations, as well as a comprehensive index of names, make it equally valuable as a work of scholarly reference for anyone seeking an authoritative and detailed account of the gods, heroes and extraordinary events that provide the bedrock of Western literature.The result is a classic among classics, a treasure trove of extraordinary tales and a masterful work of literature in its own right.Robert Graves (1895-1985) was a novelist, poet, historian, critic and translator, author of some 140 books, and one of the greatest figures of 20th century British literature. Alongside The Greek Myths, his most famous works include the historical novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God and his First World War memoir Goodbye to All That.

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Continuing the saga begun in I, Claudius, Robert Graves's Claudius the God is a compelling fictional autobiography of the Roman emperor, published with an introduction by Barry Unsworth in Penguin Modern Classics.Claudius has survived the murderous intrigues of his predecessors to become, reluctantly, Emperor of Rome. Here he recounts his surprisingly successful reign: how he cultivates the loyalty of the army and the common people to repair the damage caused by Caligula; his relations with the Jewish King Herod Agrippa; and his invasion of Britain. But the growing paranoia of absolute power and the infidelity of his promiscuous young wife Messalina mean that his good fortune will not last forever. In this second part of Robert Graves's fictionalized autobiography, Claudius - wry, rueful, always inquisitive - brings to life some of the most scandalous and violent times in history.If you enjoyed Claudius the God, you might like Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'I, Claudius and Claudius the God are an imaginative and hugely readable account of the early decades of the Roman Empire ... racy, inventive, often comic'Daily Telegraph'One of the really remarkable books of our day, a novel of learning and imagination, fortunately conceived and brilliantly executed' The New York Times'Graves made Roman history funny and familiar'Guardian

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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.

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'Suetonius, in holding up a mirror to those Caesars of diverting legend, reflects not only them but ourselves: half-tempted creatures, whose great moral task is to hold in balance the angel and the monster within' GORE VIDALAs private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, the scholar Suetonius had access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eyewitness accounts) to produce one of the most colourful biographical works in history. The Twelve Caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome, from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus to the decline into depravity under Nero and the recovery that came with his successors. This masterpiece of observation, immortalized in Robert Graves's classic translation, presents us with a gallery of vividly drawn - and all too human - individuals.Translated by ROBERT GRAVESRevised with an Introduction and notes by JAMES B. RIVES

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"There was no patriotism in the trenches. It was too remote a sentiment, and rejected as fit only for civilians. A new arrival who talked patriotism would soon be told to cut it out. As Blighty, Great Britain was a quiet, easy place to get back to out of the present foreign misery, but as a nation it was nothing."This is the original version of Robert Graves's intense memoir of the First World War, restoring this raw, emotionally truthful, darkly comic work to the way it was first written, by a young man still reeling from the trenches. 'We see the dark heart of the book even more clearly, and hear it beating even more loudly, in this original edition than we do in the comparatively careful and considered terms of the later one' Andrew Motion 'One of the most candid self-portraits, warts and all, ever painted' TLS

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The poet and author Robert Graves (1895-1985), now best known for his historical novels "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God", thanks to the legendary BBC TV adaptation, was recognised as one of the better Edwardian and First World War poets, although for a time his work was somewhat sidelined by the Modernists. Graves' writings and life belong to a period where the values and beliefs of the past were rejected or no longer felt sustainable: his unconventional life, bizarre domination by a series of strong-willed women and search for poetic rejuvenation through a series of muses can be seen as a rejection of Victorian values', caused by his childhood experiences and his service in the First World War, where he was seriously wounded on the Somme. His autobiography "Good-Bye to All That", published in 1929, is one of the landmark memoirs of the war in the trenches on the Western Front. By the time of his death, Graves was internationally famous, seen as one of the 20th century's best poets, and whose prose works were sold all over the world. This first single-volume biography over a decade will shed new light on this intriguing and unparalleled life.

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