LA VÉRITABLE HISTOIRE DES DOUZE CÉSARS

True-to-life biographies of the first twelve Caesars in ruthless ancient Rome – modeled on Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars.

Under Hadrian's reign (117-138), the historiographer Suetonius worked at the palace as secretary and librarian. Using the imperial archives to which he had unrestricted access, he undertook to write biographies of the first Caesars, from Julius Caesar to Domitian, thus retracing nearly 150 years of momentous events that had transformed the history of Rome. His work, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, rich in intimate details about the rulers of Rome, is an essential source for exploring the reality of their daily lives. Placing the emperors in their social, political and above all family context, Virginie Girod follows in the footsteps of Suetonius and revisits a thrilling saga of betrayal, intrigue and thwarted love.

How did Augustus and Vespasian manage to seize Rome and yet be considered models of virtue? Why did Tiberius, Caligula and Nero sink into tyranny? Was Claude an idiot or a great administrator? Did the emperors really fall under the influence of the slaves they freed? What about the women in all this? Can we even surmise that empresses such as Livia or Agrippina were hungrier for power than men? From chapter to chapter, myths about the Caesars are shattered, allowing their humanity to emerge in all its complexity.

VIRGINIE GIROD has a doctorate in history and is an expert on Roman antiquity. She has published acclaimed biographies of Agrippina and Theodora. For several years now, she has also presented historical subjects on French television (for the program Secrets d'Histoire in particular) and written articles in the press (Le Point, Lire and Historia among other magazines).