About

I’ve always been drawn to the human side of history: the thinkers, dreamers, fighters and women, whose choices and convictions were tested in times of danger. That curiosity eventually led me to write Hitler’s Philosophers (Yale University Press, 2013/14). To my delight - and surprise - the book found readers all over the world. It won the BBC History Book Prize, was translated into multiple languages, and took me to places like the Southbank Centre, the BBC World Service and global radio to talk about it.

I have also written for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Times Literary Supplement, The Economist, Literary Review, and History Today - places where I love sharing ideas with a broad audience. My aim is always the same: to make history feel alive, accessible, and deeply human.

Before I stepped fully into narrative history, I wrote two academic books with Cambridge University Press and published research supported by the British Academy. Those years taught me the value of careful scholarship - a habit that shapes the way I bring every story to life.

These days, alongside my writing, I’m a Bye Fellow at Christ’s College, Cambridge, where I get to stay immersed in the lively world of ideas.