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Dan Jones (writer)

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Dan Jones
Jones in 2012
Born (1981-07-27) 27 July 1981 (age 43)
Reading, Berkshire, England
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
Occupation(s)Popular Historian and journalist
Known for
Children3

Daniel Gwynne Jones (born 27 July 1981)[1] is a British popular historian, TV presenter, and journalist. He was educated at The Royal Latin School, a state grammar school in Buckingham, before attending Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Early life and education

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Jones was born in Reading, England, in 1981 to Welsh parents.[2][3] He was educated at The Royal Latin School, a state grammar school in Buckingham, before attending Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he achieved a first-class degree in history in 2002.[4]

Career

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Historian

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Dan Jones' first history book was a popular narrative history of the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381, titled Summer of Blood: The Peasants' Revolt of 1381, which was published in 2009.[5]

His second book, The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England, was published in 2012 in the United Kingdom and a year later in the United States, where it became a New York Times bestseller.[6][7] The book, which covers the history of the Plantagenet dynasty from Henry II to Richard II, received positive reviews from critics.[8][9]

Jones' third book, The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors published in 2014, picks up where The Plantagenets leaves off and covers the period 1420–1541, from the death of Henry V to the execution of Henry VIII's cousin, Margaret Pole.[10] His fourth book, also published in 2014 is about Magna Carta and is titled Magna Carta: The Making and Legacy of the Great Charter. Jones returned to the Lancasters with his 2024 book, Henry V – The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King.[11]

Jones' next book, The Templars, The Rise and the Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors, was published in September 2017 about the Knights Templar.[12] Jones also worked as a historical consultant on the 2018 History historical drama Knightfall, presenting the official podcast.[13]

In August 2018, he published The Colour of Time: A New History of the World, 1850–1960 illustrated by Marina Amaral. He collaborated with Amaral again in 2020 for the book The World Aflame. Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Land was published on 5 September 2019. It deals with the Crusades from 1096 onwards. Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages was published by Head of Zeus in 2021.

His first historical fiction debut began with his 2022 book Essex Dogs which is part of a planned trilogy. It details the life of a platoon of archers and men-at-arms during the Hundred Years' War.[14]

In 2022, Jones started his own podcast through Somethin' Else and Sony Music Entertainment called This Is History: A Dynasty to Die For, recounting much of the content of his 2012 book, The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England.

TV presenter

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In 2014, Jones' book The Plantagenets was adapted for television as a four-part series on Channel 5 entitled Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty: The Plantagenets.[15]

Jones has also made a twelve-part series for Channel 5, Secrets of Great British Castles.[16]

In April 2016 he co-wrote and co-presented, with Suzannah Lipscomb, Henry VIII and His Six Wives, shown on Channel 5.[17]

In May 2017 he co-wrote and co-presented a three-part docu-drama, Elizabeth I, with Suzannah Lipscomb. It was broadcast on Channel 5.[18]

In May and June 2017, Jones, with Suzannah Lipscomb and engineer Rob Bell, presented The Great Fire, for Channel 5, a series in which the three presenters walked the actual route the Great Fire of London fire took across the city.[19][20][21]

In June 2018 he presented a three-part series for Channel 5, Building Britain's Canals.

Jones has also made a four-part documentary series entitled Britain's Bloody Crown about the Wars of the Roses.

Over four weeks in March 2019, Jones presented London: 2,000 Years of History alongside Lipscomb and Bell.[22]

Journalist

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Jones is a journalist. He is a columnist at the London Evening Standard, where he writes regularly about sport.[23] He has written for The Times,[24][25][26] The Sunday Times,[27][28][29] The Telegraph,[30][31][32][33] The Spectator,[34] The Daily Beast and Newsweek,[35] The Literary Review, the New Statesman,[36] GQ, BBC History and History Today.

Personal life

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Jones lives in Staines-upon-Thames with his wife, two daughters and son.

Publications

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  • Summer of Blood: The Peasants' Revolt of 1381, London, HarperPress, 2009, ISBN 978-0-00-721391-7.
  • The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England, London, HarperPress, 2012, ISBN 978-0-00-721392-4
  • The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors, London, Faber, 2014, ISBN 978-0-571-28807-6; also published as: The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors, New York, Viking, 2014, ISBN 978-0-670-02667-8
  • Magna Carta: The Making and Legacy of the Great Charter, London, Head of Zeus, 2014, ISBN 978-1-78185-885-1; also published as: Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty, New York, Viking, 2014 ISBN 978-0-52542-829-9
  • Realm Divided: A Year in the Life of Plantagenet England, London, Head of Zeus, 2016, ISBN 978-1781858837.
  • The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors, London, Head of Zeus, 2017, ISBN 978-0-525-42830-5.
  • The Colour of Time: A New History of the World, 1850–1960, London, Apollo, 2018, ISBN 978-1-78669-268-9.
  • Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Land, London, Head of Zeus, 2019
  • The World Aflame: The Long War, 1914–1945, London, Apollo, 2020, ISBN 978-1-78854-778-9.
  • Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages, London, Head of Zeus, 2021, ISBN 978-1-78954-355-1.
  • Essex Dogs, London, Head of Zeus, 2022, ISBN 978-1-83893-791-1.
  • Wolves of Winter, London, Head of Zeus, 2023 ISBN 978-1-83893-794-2.
  • Henry V – The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2024. ISBN 9781804541937.

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2014 Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty Presenter 4 episodes
2015–16 Secrets of Great British Castles 12 episodes; Co-writer
2016 The Wright Stuff Guest episode: "Episode No. 21.4"
Britain's Bloody Crown Presenter 4 episodes
Henry VIII and His Six Wives Co-presenter 4 episodes; with Suzannah Lipscomb
2017 1066: A Year to Conquer England Self / Historian 2 episodes
Elizabeth I Co-presenter 3 episodes; with Suzannah Lipscomb
The Great Fire: In Real Time 3 episodes; with Suzannah Lipscomb and Rob Bell
2017–18 Secrets of the National Trust Guest presenter 5 episodes
2018 Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail Self / Historian 4 episodes
Building Britain's Canals Presenter 3 episodes
Christmas University Challenge Contestant episode: "Pembroke College, Cambridge v King's London"
2019 London: 2000 Years of History Co-presenter 4 episodes; with Suzannah Lipscomb and Rob Bell
2020 Walking Britain's Roman Roads Presenter 6 episodes

References

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  1. ^ "Jones, Daniel Gwynne". Who's Who. 2021. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U276782. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Meet Dan Jones: England's edgiest historian". Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Wars of the Roses (Jones)". Lit Lovers. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  4. ^ http://files.harpercollins.com/Mktg/HarperCanada/PDF/HCC%20UK%20Winter%202010%20online.pdf [dead link][bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ "Summer of Blood: The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 by Dan Jones: review". The Daily Telegraph. London. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  6. ^ "The Plantagenets – Books by Dan Jones". Penguin Group (USA). 18 April 2013. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  7. ^ "The New York Times bestseller list". The New York Times. 5 May 2013.
  8. ^ Larman, Alexander (3 June 2012). "The Plantagenets by Dan Jones – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  9. ^ Woodard, Colin (2 August 2013). "The Plantaganets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Dan Jones". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  11. ^ Daniel Brooks (30 August 2024). "Why Henry V would have hated modern English jingoism". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  12. ^ "The Templars by Dan Jones". Penguin Random House.
  13. ^ Dinning, Rachel (17 July 2018). "Dan Jones on the Templars and Knightfall". History Extra.
  14. ^ "Essex Dogs by Dan Jones: 9780593653784". Penguin Randomhouse. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty". Channel 5. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  16. ^ "Catalogue". Dcdrights.com. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Henry VIII and His Six Wives". Channel 5. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Elizabeth I". Channel 5. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Three part series on The Great Fire of London to air on Channel 5". ATV Today. 22 May 2017. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  20. ^ "The Great Fire: In Real Time". Channel 5. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  21. ^ "The Great Fire: London Burns – S1". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  22. ^ "London: 2000 Years of History". Channel 5. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  23. ^ Jones, Dan (18 June 2013). "A scare could be just what the Lions needed". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  24. ^ Dan Jones (18 August 2012). "The Watchers: A Secret History of the Reign of Elizabeth I by Stephen Alford". The Times. London.
  25. ^ Dan Jones (25 September 2012). "The history of Britain (in 15 minutes): from Stonehenge to the credit crunch". The Times. London.
  26. ^ Dan Jones (24 March 2012). "Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel, Victim by John Guy". The Times. London.
  27. ^ Dan Jones (6 May 2012). "Rise of the Plantagenets". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
  28. ^ Dan Jones (30 September 2012). "Blood Sisters: The Hidden Lives of the Women Behind the Wars of the Roses by Sarah Gristwood". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014.
  29. ^ Dan Jones (14 October 2012). "A cavalier, with facts". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014.
  30. ^ "Books of the Year 2011: History Books". The Daily Telegraph. London. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  31. ^ Jones, Dan (29 November 2012). "Christmas 2012: History books of the year". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  32. ^ "Hay Festival 2012: Dan Jones on Freedom of Speech". The Daily Telegraph. London. 5 June 2012.
  33. ^ "The modern joys of Christmas past". The Daily Telegraph. London. 23 December 2012.
  34. ^ "Dan Jones". The Spectator. London. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  35. ^ "Dan Jones". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  36. ^ Jones, Dan. "The Following Game". New Statesman. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
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