William Dalrymple is one of Britain's most renowned historians and the bestselling author of works like White Mughals, which won the Wolfson Prize, The Last Mughal (Duff Cooper Prize), and Return of a King (Hemingway and Kapuściński awards). His latest book, The Anarchy, was long-listed for the Baillie Gifford Prize and won the 2020 Arthur Ross Bronze Medal.
A frequent broadcaster, Dalrymple has written and presented award-winning television series, including one that won the Grierson Award at BAFTA. He is a recipient of numerous honors, including the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, the British Academy’s President’s Medal, and five honorary doctorates. He’s a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Asiatic Society, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and has held fellowships at Princeton, Brown, and Oxford.
William is also co-founder of the Jaipur Literature Festival and co-host of the chart-topping podcast Empire, which delves into the history of the Indian subcontinent. He frequently contributes to the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, and The Guardian.
Living on a farm outside Delhi with his wife and three children, Dalrymple continues to explore the cultural and intellectual legacy of India. His work highlights how, from 250BC to 1200AD, India was a global superpower of ideas, exporting religion, science, medicine, and art, influencing cultures from the Red Sea to the Pacific. His captivating storytelling reveals India’s profound impact on world history, philosophy, and science.
