Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus wrote The Lives of the Twelve Caesars around AD 121, drawing on imperial archives and personal sources to produce detailed — and often scandalous — biographies of Rome’s rulers from Julius Caesar through Domitian. Suetonius had access to documents and eyewitness accounts no longer available, and he had no compunction about recording vices, eccentricities, and embarrassments alongside official achievements.
Essential reading for anyone interested in ancient Rome, the book is also simply tremendous entertainment — nobody writes about Caligula or Nero quite like Suetonius. Download the free EPUB for the complete, unabridged text.