Of Human Bondage is a terrific book. One of my absolute favorites. I, Claudius, by Robert Graves, is a fictionalized account of the life of the Roman emperor Claudius. Claudius had a stutter, a limp and was slightly deaf, which probably sidelined him from a lot of the imperial drama. Graves book was adapted as a miniseries by the BBC in the late 70s. No special effects, but great acting, especially by Derek Jacobi as Claudius.