pA historical tradition of Roman origin represents Livia Drusilla, the third and much-beloved wife of Caesar Augustus, as a conniving, Borgia-like criminal. This view of Livia maintains that to promote the political career of her son by her former husband, Livia killed or incapacitated Augustus' descendants through his previous wife. Author Robert Graves, in his famous novel, I, Claudius, based his fictitious rendering of Livia upon this malevolent representation of her. The conceit is patently wrong, and essentially all modern scholars of Roman history reject it. But thanks to Graves' immensely entertaining book, and the British Broadcasting Corporation adaptation of it for television, the image of Livia as a devious dynastic murderess prevails in the popular mind.ppI, Livia The Counterfeit Criminal aspires to correct the misconception, and present an accurate assessment of this much-maligned woman. The study's comfortably readable style is intended for general audiences. ppThe 64257r