Working with literary biographers: Suetonius, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio

What this note covers

1. 1. What is literary biography and why does it matter in QCAA Ancient History?
2. 2. Suetonius: the imperial insider with a taste for scandal
3. 3. Plutarch: the moral philosopher in biographer's clothing
4. 4. Cassius Dio: the senator-historian writing across a century of crisis
5. 5. Applying the QCAA reliability and usefulness framework
6. 6. Retrospective texts and the problem of temporal distance
7. 7. Integrating literary biography into Q4 extended responses

7 sections · 14 key terms & formulas · 6 common mistakes