I Claudius

Robert Graves's 1934 novel presenting the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (Augustus through Caligula) through the supposedly discovered 'autobiography' of Claudius — the stuttering, limping emperor whom everyone overlooked — creating the definitive fictional portrait of the early Roman Empire.

Creates the definitive fictional account of Roman imperial politics — I Claudius's use of the unreliable narrator (Claudius pretending to be a fool to survive) to present the murderous politics of the Julio-Claudian court provides the template for all subsequent historical fiction about Rome — and the BBC adaptation made it permanently canonical.