Count Belisarius
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Edition: Forth ed
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Good
In the glittering and treacherous world of sixth-century Byzantium, one man stands above all others — Belisarius, the greatest military commander of the age, whose genius on the battlefield is matched only by the envy and suspicion he inspires at court. Robert Graves's Count Belisarius chronicles the extraordinary life of this Roman general through the eyes of his devoted narrator, Eugenius, a eunuch slave who bears witness to campaigns across Persia, North Africa, and Gothic Italy, painting a vivid portrait of an empire both magnificent and corrupt. The novel captures the impossible tension between Belisarius's unwavering loyalty to the Emperor Justinian and an imperial court that conspires endlessly to diminish him, culminating in one of history's most poignant tales of greatness betrayed. Graves, celebrated for his mastery of the historical novel — best known for I, Claudius — brings the same rigorous scholarship and psychological acuity to bear here, reconstructing the late Roman world with an authenticity that feels almost archaeological in its precision. The prose is disciplined, ironic, and deeply humane, illuminating timeless themes of honour, political cynicism, and the cruel fates that await those who serve power too faithfully. For readers who have ever wondered what separates a legend from a martyr, Count Belisarius offers an answer that is as unsettling as it is unforgettable.
Author: Robert Graves
Format: Hardback
Published: 1962, Cassell · London
Genre: Historical fiction
Edition: Forth ed
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Good
In the glittering and treacherous world of sixth-century Byzantium, one man stands above all others — Belisarius, the greatest military commander of the age, whose genius on the battlefield is matched only by the envy and suspicion he inspires at court. Robert Graves's Count Belisarius chronicles the extraordinary life of this Roman general through the eyes of his devoted narrator, Eugenius, a eunuch slave who bears witness to campaigns across Persia, North Africa, and Gothic Italy, painting a vivid portrait of an empire both magnificent and corrupt. The novel captures the impossible tension between Belisarius's unwavering loyalty to the Emperor Justinian and an imperial court that conspires endlessly to diminish him, culminating in one of history's most poignant tales of greatness betrayed. Graves, celebrated for his mastery of the historical novel — best known for I, Claudius — brings the same rigorous scholarship and psychological acuity to bear here, reconstructing the late Roman world with an authenticity that feels almost archaeological in its precision. The prose is disciplined, ironic, and deeply humane, illuminating timeless themes of honour, political cynicism, and the cruel fates that await those who serve power too faithfully. For readers who have ever wondered what separates a legend from a martyr, Count Belisarius offers an answer that is as unsettling as it is unforgettable.