Cover of The Twelve Caesars

The Twelve Caesars

by Suetonius · 119

De vita duodecim Caesarum libri seriesNext:Lives of the Caesars, Volume 2 Claudius/Nero/Galba/Otho/Vitellius/Vespasian/Titus/Domitian/Lives of Illustrious Men/Grammarians & Rhetoricians(120) →

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As private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, Suetonius gained access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eye-witness accounts) to produce one of the most colorful biographical works in history. The Twelve Caesarschronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome, from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus, to the decline into depravity and civil war under Nero, and the recovery that came with his successors. A masterpiece of anecdote, wry observation and detailed physical description, The Twelve Caesarspresents us with a gallery of vividly drawn — and all too human — individuals.

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Robert Graves's celebrated translation, sensitively revised by Michael Grant, captures all the wit and immediacy of Suetonius' original.

Subject
historyhistoryMore like thisLess of thisbiographybiographyMore like thisLess of thispoliticspoliticsMore like thisLess of thisphilosophyphilosophyMore like thisLess of thismemoirmemoirMore like thisLess of this
Genre
ancient Romeancient RomeMore like thisLess of thisancient worldancient worldMore like thisLess of thishistorical fictionhistorical fictionMore like thisLess of this
Themes
historyhistoryMore like thisLess of this
Setting
ancient Romeancient RomeMore like thisLess of thisancient historyancient historyMore like thisLess of thisantiquityantiquityMore like thisLess of thisRomeRomeMore like thisLess of thisItalyItalyMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
medium · 363 pages

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