Suetonius' biographical sketches of the teachers of 'grammar' and rhetoric survive only in part and are fairly brief; yet it would be difficult to name another text of similar scope that is a more productive resource for the study of Roman cultural history in the classical period.

For the early history of Roman education it is literally indispensable, and it is a precious repository as well for the history of Roman literary life more generally, for our understanding of Roman social and cultural relations, and even for the social history of freedmen and slaves. This new critical edition of Suetonius' rich and often curious text is accompanied by the first English translation to appear in eighty years.

The commentary, the most thorough and detailed so far available, elucidates Suetonius' method of compilation and places the stories he tells in their social and historical context.