An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

Suetonius

3 books referenced

Books by Suetonius

The Twelve Caesars

Referenced in 21 episodes

Julius Caesar, with Mary Beard

October 23, 2025

Context:

Implied reference when Mary Beard mentions 'your favourite Roman biographer, Tom, your lad' who wrote 'a systematic account written a century or so later' - this refers to Suetonius's biographical work on Roman emperors including Julius Caesar.

536. Emperors of Rome: Caligula, Incest and Insanity (Part 3)

February 03, 2025

Context:

Extensively quoted and discussed throughout the episode as the primary source for information about Caligula. The hosts read passages from it and analyze Suetonius's account of Caligula's life and reign.

535. Emperors of Rome: Tiberius, Slaughter and Scandal (Part 2)

January 30, 2025

Context:

Referenced multiple times throughout the episode as the primary source for information about Emperor Tiberius. Described as 'Suetonius' great biography of the Caesars' and discussed extensively for its accounts of Tiberius's reign, character, and alleged depravities.

525. Charlemagne: Emperor of the West (Part 3)

December 25, 2024

Context:

Referenced as 'Suetonius, the biography of the Caesars' when discussing how Einhard may have drawn physical descriptions of Charlemagne from Suetonius's descriptions of Roman emperors.

523. Charlemagne: Return of the Kings (Part 1)

December 19, 2024

Context:

Mentioned as the classical work that Einhard modeled his biography of Charlemagne on; specifically noted that the monastery at Fulda had a complete collection which Einhard read as a young boy

508. America in '68: Nightmare in Vietnam (Part 1)

October 28, 2024

Context:

Tom compares LBJ to 'a character from Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars' when describing Johnson's personality and behavior.

499. The Roman Conquest of Britain: Julius Caesar’s Invasion (Part 1)

September 29, 2024

Context:

Referenced as Caesar's biographer who reported the story about Caesar seeing Alexander the Great's statue in Cadiz and having a dream about his mother, written about 180 years after the events

340: Hadrian and Antinous

June 12, 2023

Context:

Referenced when discussing Roman emperors' sexual preferences: 'Suetonius in his Lives of the Caesars describes Claudius as a man who only ever slept with women and Galva as a man who only ever slept with men.'

305: The Fall of the Roman Republic

February 16, 2023

Context:

Explicitly referenced when discussing the fate of Caesar's murderers. A passage about how none of the assassins outlived Caesar by more than three years is quoted from this work.

304: The Murder of Julius Caesar

February 13, 2023

Context:

Cited as providing 'our best account' of Caesar's assassination, including details about the 23 wounds and Caesar's final moments, and the description of his body being carried home

288: Jesus Christ: The History (Part 2)

December 22, 2022

Context:

Referenced when discussing parallels between the birth narrative of Jesus and similar prodigies told about Augustus's birth, including a story from a freedman named Julius Marathus about a prophecy of a future king

287: Jesus Christ: The Mystery (Part 1)

December 19, 2022

Context:

Referenced when discussing Suetonius as 'the biographer of the 12 Caesars' who mentions someone called 'Crestus' in the reign of Claudius and references Christians in context of the Great Fire

224. Roman Holidays

August 25, 2022

Context:

Referenced as the source describing what Tiberius allegedly got up to on Capri, containing what Tom describes as 'the single most shocking sentence in the whole of ancient literature'

219. Justinian: Making Rome Great Again (Part 2)

August 09, 2022

Context:

Referenced when discussing how Procopius compares Justinian to Domitian, noting that Domitian was 'one of Suetonius' 12 Caesars' - the traditional tyrants of Rome.

210. London: Places (Part 2)

July 19, 2022

Context:

Tom makes an analogy comparing the unreliability of pop star autobiographies to Suetonius's historical accounts, saying 'It's a bit like kind of Soutenius and his Lives of Roman Emperors. You don't know whether it's part of the formula.'

205. The Last Days of Boris Johnson

July 08, 2022

Context:

Referenced when discussing the story of Emperor Otho's dignified suicide. Tom mentions that Suetonius is 'the biographer from whom we get this' story, and notes that Suetonius's father was present when Otho gave his final speech, lending credibility to the account.

135. Crossing the Rubicon: The die is cast

January 11, 2022

Context:

Referenced as a source for the dramatic account of Caesar crossing the Rubicon, including the 'let the die be cast' quote and the apparition with the trumpet

12 Days: Coronation of Charlemagne and the collapse of the Soviet Union

December 25, 2021

Context:

Tom mentions that Einhardt's biography of Charlemagne was 'modeled on Suetonius' lives of the Caesars,' referencing this classical Roman biographical work as a literary model for the medieval biography.

128. Rasputin

December 06, 2021

Context:

Referenced at the end of the episode when reflecting on how historical sources that wallow in pornographic material about figures like Rasputin are similar to ancient sources about Roman emperors.

105. Classics

October 07, 2021

Context:

Referenced as the classical source that people in the 15th-16th century read to learn about the first twelve Roman emperors and their corrupt nature

56. Nero

May 24, 2021

Context:

Referenced multiple times as a primary source for Nero's life. Tom mentions reading Suetonius as a child and describes him as 'by far the biggest bitch' among the biographers who wrote about Nero.

Life of Julius Caesar

Referenced in 1 episode

556. 1066: The Battle of Hastings (Part 3)

April 13, 2025

Context:

Referenced when discussing how William's stumbling upon landing in England echoes a similar scene from this classical work where Julius Caesar does the same thing.

Life of Augustus

Referenced in 1 episode

524. Charlemagne: Pagan Killer (Part 2)

December 23, 2024

Context:

Mentioned as the model that Einhard used for his biography of Charlemagne: 'Einhard models his biography on Suetonius' biography of Augustus.'