Count Belisarius (original 1938; edition 2010)

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. ( )

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"! ( )

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

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. ( )

This is a historical novel about Belisarius, a boy from Thrace who rises to prominence in the sixth-century Roman empire because of his talent for military strategy and because of his general virtue and maturity. The story is told by his wife Antonina's eunuch, and it begins with the tale of Belisarius and Antonina's first meeting.

I expected far more excitement from this book, which is supposed to be about war and palace intrigue, subjects that should be gripping and full of suspense. However, I found it boring. I pushed myself to keep reading for a while, but I gave up after about 150 pages because I didn't care what happened to the characters or what happened next. I have read nonfiction histories with far more verve than this.

The book does, I think, give a nice flavor of life at that time for a variety of people. The style reminded me of some ancient histories, so if that is a style you like, you may not find this so boring. ( )