The lives of the Caesars / Suetonius ; translated with an introduction by Tom Holland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Suetonius, approximately 69-approximately 122

Contributor:

Holland, Tom, translator.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emperors--Rome--Biography--Early works to 1800.

Emperors.

Rome--History--Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D--Early works to 1800.

Rome.

Rome--History--Julio-Claudians, 30 B.C.-68 A.D.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxxix, 382 pages : maps, genealogical tables ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, [2025]

Summary:

A masterful new translation of Suetonius' renowned biography of the twelve Caesars, bringing to life a portrait of the first Roman emperors in stunning detail. The ancient Roman empire was the supreme arena, where emperors had no choice but to fight, to thrill, to dazzle. To rule as a Caesar was to stand as an actor upon the great stage of the world. No biographies invite us into the lives of the Caesars more vividly or intimately than those by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, written from the center of Rome and power, in the early 2nd century AD. By placing each Caesar in the context of the generations that had gone before, and connecting personality with policy, Suetonius succeeded in painting Rome's ultimate portraits of power. The shortfalls, foreign policy crises and sex scandals of the emperors are laid bare; we are shown their tastes, their foibles, their eccentricities; we sit at their tables and enter their bedrooms. The result is perhaps the most influential series of biographies ever written. That Rome lives more vividly in people's imagination than any other ancient empire owes an inordinate amount to Suetonius. Now award-winning author and translator Tom Holland brings us even closer in a new, spellbinding translation. Giving a deeper understanding of the personal lives of Rome's first emperors, and of how they swayed the fates of millions, The Lives of the Caesars is an astonishing, immersive experience of a time and culture at once familiar and utterly alien to our own. -- Page 2 of cover.

Contents:

Introduction

Glossary

The family of Augustus

Maps

The lives of the Caesars. The defied Julius

The defied Augustus

Tiberius

Gaius

The defied Claudius

Nero

Galba

Otho

Vitellius

The defied Vespasian

The defied Titus

Domitian

Appendix I: Names and dates

Appendix II: Principal characters.

Notes:

First published in Great Britain by Penguin Books (UK), an imprint of Penguin Random House Ltd, 2025--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 355-382).

ISBN:

9780143107705

0143107704

OCLC:

1517354004