Count Belisarius

First published in 1938, this historical novel recounts the career of Belisarius, general to the emperor Justinian, as remembered by his household eunuch Eugenius. The narrative follows the reconquest of North Africa from the Vandals, the Gothic wars in Italy, court intrigue in Constantinople, and the marriage of Belisarius to the formidable Antonina, companion of the empress Theodora. Graves keeps the sixth-century campaigns and the Hippodrome factions in view while showing how imperial suspicion rewards and then damages a loyal commander. The book is a biographical war novel, not a fantasy: strategy, plague, and palace politics around one soldier.

Quarter bound in black buckram with orange paper sides, covers printed with a colour picture. Black endpapers and slipcase.