About this title: 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.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1954
Description: Good. Paperback book in good condition. Will have creasing to spine and/or covers. Edgewear/shelfwear. May have other defects such as discolouration to block edges etc. For further details please email. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780140010251ISBN:0140010254
Description: Good. Page colour-Slightly discoloured in accordance with book age. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780140010251ISBN:0140010254
Description: Good. Book cover-The cover of this book is creased or has markings in accordance with the book's age. Page colour-Slightly discoloured in accordance with book age. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Cassell, London
Date Published: 1938
Description: 1st edition. Hardback. Good-/ No dj. ix, 527pp with 5 Maps by Richard Gibbs; Light foxing to endpapers with ink dates on front pastedown. Green stained covers with some damage, gilt motif & title on spine. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Cloth
Publisher: Cassell, London
Date Published: 1938
Description: Good/No Jacket. Ex-Library Usual library labels and stamps. Cover a little bumped at extremities, and page block browned, but contents in good condition-clean, tight and bright. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Literary Guild
Date Published: 1938
Description: Good in Fair jacket. Literary guild printing, 1938. Good hardcover with fair DJ in new Brodart jacket. A hint of page toning at the margins but otherwise unmarked, bright and clean with square and tight binding. Spine tail softened. DJ looks better than it is, breaking apart at the folds and worn hard at spine ends and corners. Enjoy reading with a real book in your hands. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780141188133ISBN:0141188138
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 448 pages. (448 pages) 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. this book demonstrates the author's command of an historical subject, creating a picture of a decadent era. (Paperback) read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Cassell, LONDON
Date Published: 1938
Description: Very Good/No Jacket. Uk 1st edition 1st print. No dustjacket. Green cloth boards. Gold lettering to the spine. Tanned outer page edges otherwise very good! read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Cassell and Company, London
Date Published: 1938
Description: Very Good+ with no dust jacket. Original green cloth covers are slightly rubbed, owner name and date elegantly written on first endpaper, no other defects. Binding is tight, pages are clean and unmarked. An excellent copy. 8vo-8" to 9" tall. read more
Edition: 1st Edition
Binding: Cloth
Publisher: Cassell & Co, London
Date Published: 1938
Description: Good Plus. No Jacket. Original tan cover with gilt to spine. Cover soiled. Owners details to f. end. Frontispiece(map)-527 pages plus 4 maps to rear. Some spots. Good reading copy. read more
Edition: 4th ed., 2nd pt
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Cassell, London
Date Published: 1970
Description: Book: Good. DJ: Good. 8vo. 327 pp. 5 1/4 x 8. Brown cloth covered boards, stamped in gold on spine. Ownership markings on ffep. Corners lightly bumped. Orange dj, light edgewear. read more
Edition: First Edition.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: THE ALBATROSS., STOCKHOLM
Date Published: 1939
Description: Dust Jacket Included. First Continental Edition. Near fine in yellow printed wrappers laid-into the card dj. Publisher's query card laid-in. A splendid copy of an uncommon imprint. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Cloth
Publisher: Random House, New York
Date Published: 1938
Description: Very Good. No Jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. First American Edition. Stated First Printing. A couple of very small white spots on the front cover. A couple of pencil markings on the first blank page. A nice solid copy. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House, 1938.
Description: Paper clip impression at top edge of prelims, still a solid near fine copy in bright, very good dust jacket, with light general wear, and pinky fingernail-size chip at spine crown. read more
Edition: First Edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE. NY 1938
Date Published: 1938
Description: Dust Jacket Included. First American Edition. Near fine in a Vg. + or better dj. (Green top edge somewhat faded. A few small & shallow edge chips in dj. Couple tears at corners of dj. Hint of creasing & light shelfwear to dj. Spine on dj. shows only the most minimal fading) read more
Edition: 5 3/4" X 8 5/8". 1st US. 564 pp,
Binding: Blue green cloth with black spine label; top edge stained green.
Publisher: Random House,, New York:
Date Published: (1938).
"Consecuente hasta el final. Sólo con que la mitad de la historia fuese cierta, el conde Belisario debería pasar a la historia como modelo de coherencia. Se trata de una novela histórica, bien escrita por Robert Graves, y que narra la vida de Belisario a través de los ojos del eunuco Eugenio, servidor de Antonina, su mujer. Nacido en los albores del siglo V, Belisario sirvió al "gran" Justiniano (personaje que no sale muy favorecido) y a su mujer Teodora. Fue un general que combatió a los godos en Italia y el norte de Africa, y a los persas en las fronteras orientales del Imperio. Siempre invicto, dedicó su vida al servicio del Emperador. Solo las intrigas y la aparente pusilanimidad de Justiniano, le hicieron caer en desgracia en diferentes ocasiones. Corte llena de intrigas, donde no necesariamente progresaban los mejores (lo mismo que ocurre 16 siglos más tarde), sino los más aduladores, los más duchos en medrar.
Como buena novela histórica, se entremezclan en el argumento diferentes historias, entre las que destacan las relaciones a cuatro bandas entre Justiniano, Teodora, Antonina y Belisario, con diferentes personajes menores, todos los cuales se caracterizan por su mezquindad. Interesante descripción de las querellas teológicas imperantes en la época, en virtud de las cuales se engrandecía o empequeñecía el poder político. No existía todavía Mahoma, pero en política se medraba a partir de la ortodoxia de las opiniones religiosas de cada cual, con independencia, obviamente de sus verdaderas creencias (normalmente ninguna).
A pesar de las injusticias que se le cometieron, Belisario en ningún momento renunció a sus juramentos (renuncia al mundo, a la carne y al demonio). Fue fiel a su compromiso hasta la muerte. Quizá por ello, incluso la historia haya sido injusta con él, al olvidarlo en favor de otros generales de más lustro, como el rey Arturo o el mismo Julio César. Más allá de su exitosa carrera militar, que ayudó sin duda a Justiniano a expandir considerablemente su Imperio, lo que más me ha impresionado, otra vez, es la valentía del protagonista en la defensa de sus convicciones, aunque le llevaran a la desgracia. Pocas personas en la historia han sido capaces de ello. Seguro que murió más reconfortado que su famoso jefe."
"Roert Graves has written extensively on the Ancient world and Mythology but this is a history book that I couldn't put down. Belisarius as he attempts to put back together the Roman Empire is a truly tragic figure but what a General!"
"I really wanted to like this book, I really did. Robert Graves writes with elegance, intelligence, wonderful descriptions, and great word choice. After recently reading a lot of books that weren't necessarily trash but not necessarily stimulating, I was excited about this one, but in the end I thought Count Belisarius fell short of my expectations.
The first few chapters flew by and were really entertaining to get through. Belisarius had an interesting childhood and the reader can see his humble beginnings. However, once Belisarius becomes a general, it's pretty much the same over and over and over, battle after battle after battle. All of the characters but for a very few are very easy to mix up, especially since many are named John or are in the story for very short before getting killed (or having some other fate).
Perhaps what is lacking in this novel is dialogue. Dialogue was sparse and when it was used, it generally didn't seem to add to the narrative very much. I'm not saying that dialogue is necessary for an interesting story because it's not. However, the relationships within the novel are so important that as a reader, I was wondering how the relationships actually worked out if dialogue was so limited.
Moreover, Belisarius' character development is limited. He pretty much is the best general ever and rarely makes mistakes. Additionally, he is a gentleman with honor and pride and he is faithful to his wife. It would've been more engaging if Belisarius were a little more human and had faults or made more mistakes instead of being consistent and (almost) perfect. He's almost like a superhero and I found myself just wanting him to make a mistake of some sort just to see him falter. (That didn't happen) Other characters have some development, but again, it is very limited and many of the characters can be categorized into either "good" or "bad." In some novels, this works well, but some, it doesn't work at all. Count Belisarius fell into the latter category.
Like I said, I really wanted to like this book, I really did. I love historical fiction, but this novel was difficult to get through because all the battles seemed the same. If you like detailed battles, then you'll definitely love this book. Otherwise, it's only an ok read for great writing style and good if you like ancient Roman/Byzantine history."
"Más bien planito. Hay muchos avatares, pero me parece falto de un hilo argumental nítido. Demasiado episódico. Los personajes son o muy buenos o muy malos; sin ambigüedades ni relieve. Decepciona sobre todo por estar escrito por quien está escrito."
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