I could feel Claudius like my close friend!!

Today, I'm going to talk about the introduction of a book named, "I, Claudius" by Robert Graves.  The main character is, as the title says, Claudius, who is the Emperor of Rome, and he goes on to tell his own story, like an autobiography, though it is not he who wrote this story.  And one of the most interesting point in this book is that there are some strange features in his narration.  For example, in he first chapter, Claudius insists again and again that he wrote this story by himself, like "In the present work, I swear by all the Gods, I am my own mere secretary, and my own official annalist: I am writing with my won hand, and what favour can I hope to win from myself by flattery?"  However, it does not mean that the story itself is difficult to understand.  Conversely, we can read this book comfortably.  This is partly because, maybe, the narrator uses relatively easy words, which even we Japanese students know.  Moreover, Robert Graves's way of narration is just like a conversation with a friend, and it makes us feel close to the narrator and the story.  So I think one cause of the great success of this book is the closeness and feel of comfortable for readers.