Editing Robert Graves (section)

==Literary career==
In 1927, Graves published ''Lawrence and the Arabs'', a commercially successful biography of [[T. E. Lawrence]]. The autobiographical ''[[Good-Bye to All That]]'' (1929, revised by him and republished in 1957) proved a success but cost him many of his friends, notably Siegfried Sassoon. In 1934, he published his most commercially successful work, ''[[I, Claudius]]''. Using classical sources (under the advice of classics scholar [[Eirlys Roberts]])<ref name=SObit>{{cite news|work=[[The Scotsman]]|date=9 April 2008|title=Obituary: Eirlys Roberts|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/eirlys-roberts-1-1163142|access-date=2 November 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107003501/http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/eirlys-roberts-1-1163142|url-status=dead}}</ref> he constructed a complex and compelling tale of the life of the Roman emperor [[Claudius]], a tale extended in the sequel ''[[Claudius the God]]'' (1935). ''I, Claudius'' received the [[James Tait Black Memorial Prize]] in 1934. Later, in the 1970s, the Claudius books were turned into the very popular television series ''[[I, Claudius (TV series)|I, Claudius]]'', with [[Sir Derek Jacobi]] shown in both Britain and United States. Another historical novel by Graves, ''[[Count Belisarius]]'' (1938), recounts the career of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] general [[Belisarius]].

Graves and Riding left Mallorca in 1936 at the outbreak of the [[Spanish Civil War]] and in 1939, they moved to the United States, taking lodging in [[New Hope, Pennsylvania|New Hope]], Pennsylvania. Their volatile relationship and eventual breakup were described by Robert's nephew [[Richard Perceval Graves]] in ''Robert Graves: 1927–1940: the Years with Laura'', and [[T. S. Matthews]]'s ''Jacks or Better'' (1977). It was also the basis for [[Miranda Seymour]]'s novel ''The Summer of '39'' (1998).

After returning to Britain, Graves began a relationship with Beryl Hodge, the wife of [[Alan Hodge]], his collaborator on ''[[The Long Week-End]]'' (1940) and ''[[The Reader Over Your Shoulder]]'' (1943; republished in 1947 as ''The Use and Abuse of the English Language'' but subsequently republished several times under its original title). Graves and Beryl (they were not to marry until 1950) lived in [[Galmpton, Torbay]] until 1946, when they re-established a home with their three children, in [[Deià]], Mallorca. The house is now a museum. The year 1946 also saw the publication of his historical novel ''[[King Jesus (novel)|King Jesus]]''. He published ''[[The White Goddess]]: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth'' in 1948; it is a study of the nature of poetic inspiration, interpreted in terms of the classical and Celtic mythology he knew so well.<ref>Seymour (1996) pp. 306–12</ref> He turned to science fiction with ''[[Seven Days in New Crete]]'' (1949) and in 1953 he published ''The [[Nazarene Gospel]] Restored'' with [[Joshua Podro]]. He also wrote ''[[Hercules, My Shipmate]]'', published under that name in 1945 (but first published as ''The Golden Fleece'' in 1944).

In 1955, he published ''[[The Greek Myths]]'', which retells a large body of Greek myths, each tale followed by extensive commentary drawn from the system of ''The White Goddess''. His retellings are well respected; many of his unconventional interpretations and etymologies are dismissed by classicists.<ref>''"[it] makes attractive reading and conveys much solid information, but should be approached with extreme caution nonetheless"''. (Robin Hard, H. J. Rose, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology'', p. 690. {{ISBN|0-415-18636-6}}.) See ''[[The Greek Myths]]''</ref> Graves, in turn, dismissed the reactions of classical scholars, arguing that they are too specialised and "prose-minded" to interpret "ancient poetic meaning," and that "the few independent thinkers&nbsp;... [are] the poets, who try to keep civilisation alive."<ref>''The White Goddess'', Farrar Straus Giroux, p. 224. {{ISBN|0-374-50493-8}}</ref>

He published a volume of short stories, ''¡Catacrok! Mostly Stories, Mostly Funny'', in 1956. In 1961, he became Professor of Poetry at Oxford, a post he held until 1966.

In 1967, Robert Graves published, together with [[Omar Ali-Shah]], a new translation of the ''[[Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam]]''.<ref>Graves, Robert, Ali-Shah, Omar: ''The Original Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayyam'', {{ISBN|0-14-003408-0|0-912358-38-6}}</ref><ref name=eagle>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090121003133/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844564,00.html Stuffed Eagle], ''Time'', 31 May 1968</ref> The translation quickly became controversial; Graves was attacked for trying to break the spell of famed passages in [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward FitzGerald]]'s Victorian translation, and [[L. P. Elwell-Sutton]], an orientalist at [[Edinburgh University]], maintained that the manuscript used by Ali-Shah and Graves, which Ali-Shah and his brother [[Idries Shah]] claimed had been in their family for 800 years, was a forgery.<ref name=eagle /> The translation was a critical disaster and Graves's reputation suffered severely due to what the public perceived as his gullibility in falling for the Shah brothers' deception.<ref name=eagle /><ref name=Graves>{{cite book|last=Graves|first=Richard Perceval|title=Robert Graves and the White Goddess: The White Goddess, 1940–1985|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|year=1995|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/robertgraveswhi00grav/page/446 446]–47, 468–72|url=https://archive.org/details/robertgraveswhi00grav|url-access=limited|isbn=0-231-10966-0}}</ref>  It was in 1967 that the first full-length assessment of Graves' work was published. ''Swifter Than Reason'' by [[Douglas Day]] concentrated on Grave's development as a poet from his earliest work in 1916 to the most recent collection, using Graves' critical writings as commentary.<ref>{{cite book |last=Day|first=Douglas |author-link= Douglas Day |date=1968 |title=Swifter Than Reason:The Poetry and Criticism of Robert Graves|publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref>

In 1968, Graves was awarded the [[Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry]] by [[Queen Elizabeth II]]. His private audience with the Queen was shown in the [[BBC]] documentary film ''[[Royal Family (film)|Royal Family]]'', which aired in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Last Years (1968-1985) {{!}} Fundación Robert Graves |url=https://www.fundaciorobertgraves.org/en/last-years-1968-1985/ |access-date=2022-06-24 |language=en-US}}</ref>

From the 1960s until his death, Robert Graves frequently exchanged letters with [[Spike Milligan]]. Many of their letters to each other are collected in the book ''Dear Robert, Dear Spike''.<ref>National Library of Australia ''NLA News'' June 2002 Volume XII, Number 9. Retrieved 15 June 2007 [http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/2002/jun02/article1.html National Library of Australia newsletter (June 2002)]</ref>