Description
Book SynopsisSeutonius, a Roman historian, was the author of "The Lives of the Caesars". This biography sets the historian's career and his method of dealing with his subject matter in the context of Roman society in the early Empire, and draws a picture of the coherence of Suetonius's life, appointments, scholarship and literary activities. Seutonius is presented as a man of learning, rather than as a failed narrative historian. This portrait takes account of recent evidence concerning his life and seeks to clarify the character of "The Lives of the Caesars" as a description of emperors and Roman imperial society by a scholarly biographer who himself was in the service of a scholarly Caesar - the Emperor Hadrian.
Trade ReviewHis book is an important contribution to the social history of the Roman elite in general as well as to Suetonian studies in particular. An integrated portrait of Suetonius and his age emerges, one that is compelling and imaginative. -- Classical Philology
This is an excellent treatment of a much misunderstood author, written with equal expertise in literature and in social history. -- Times Literary Supplement
Wallace-Hadrill’s refreshing approach to Suetonius is one that no social, or other historian of the Roman Empire can afford to ignore. -- Classical World
Table of ContentsPreface PART ONE: THE AUTHOR 1. The Man and the Style 2. The Scholar and Society 3. The Scholarly Biographer 4. The Scholar at Court PART TWO: THE SUBJECT 5. Emperors and Society 6. The Emperor's Job 7. Virtues and Vices 8. Emperors and Culture Epilogue Bibliography Index
