The Lives of the Caesars

De: Suetonius, Tom Holland - introduction translator

Narrado por: Justin Avoth, Tom Holland

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

A Penguin Classic

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.©2025 Tom Holland (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Finally, a Translation in Modern English

Engaging, fascinating, and revelatory. The modern English allows the listener to hear the descriptions of lives and events in a way which makes them feel like real people; not statues. For the first time I felt the true horror of Tiberius' violent and sexual crimes without having to sift through the obscuring Victorian language, as well as hearing the voice of Suetonius in a natural way for the first time. The sense of each Ceasar jumps from the page and I hope we get more like this!!

So Many Insights!

This book offers so much about what was considered important and unimportant to ancient Romans in the most contemporary sense. It animated them as personalities, showing where they were so much in common with us today and where they suffered, though never in absolute terms, but relatively. For example, what the moral laws were and what people considered acceptable sexually, politically, and other mores. So much of his account resides on rumors, yet even rumors are insightful into people's thinking, fears, and desires. Also neat we're stories about how the Parthians interacted with Rome, something not often discussed. Having spent so much time reading drier history of the times, I feel enriched by this book, for it brought people, their banalities, appetites, fears, vices, and what they admired down to eye level.