Christopher de Bellaigue (born 1971 in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
) is a
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
who has worked on the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
since 1994. His work mostly chronicles developments in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
Biography
De Bellaigue, who attended
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
, is from an Anglo-French background. He obtained a
BA and
MA in
Oriental Studies
Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studi ...
from the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, where he was a student at
Fitzwilliam College
Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
The college traces its origins back to 1869 and the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...
.
His first book, ''
In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs: A Memoir of Iran'', was shortlisted for the
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...
's
Ondaatje Prize
The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that evokes the "spirit of a place", and is written by someon ...
. In 2007–2008, he was a visiting fellow at
St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economic ...
, where he began work on his biography of the Iranian prime minister,
Mohammad Mossadegh
Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...
.
De Bellaigue is a frequent contributor to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', ''
New York Review of Books
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
'', ''
Granta
''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...
'', and ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', among other publications. He was formerly the Tehran correspondent for ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
''. He lives in London with his wife
Bita Ghezelayagh, who is an Iranian architect, and two children.
In 2012, de Bellaigue's book about Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Mossadegh, ''Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup'', was published. It won the Bronze Washington Institute Book Prize.
''Rebel Land''
De Bellaigue's 2009 book ''Rebel Land: Unraveling the Riddle of History in a Turkish Town'' is based largely on research he conducted in Varto, a small town in southeastern Turkey.
The book begins with a story of de Bellaigue's essay published in the ''
New York Review of Books
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
'', whose allusion to the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
prompted a letter from the Harvard Professor
James R. Russell
James Robert Russell (born October 27, 1953) is a scholar and professor in Ancient Near Eastern, Iranian and Armenian Studies. He has published extensively in journals, and has written several books.
He served as Mashtots Professor of Armeni ...
accusing de Bellaigue of promoting denialist views, as well as criticism from the magazine's editor
Robert Silvers
Robert Benjamin Silvers (December 31, 1929 – March 20, 2017) was an American editor who served as editor of ''The New York Review of Books'' from 1963 to 2017.
Raised on Long Island, New York, Silvers graduated from the University of Chicago ...
.
Dismayed to realize that he had gotten his information on these events only from Turkish and pro-Turkish writers, de Bellaigue set out to find out the truth through his own research.[ In his book de Bellaigue criticizes the Turkish historians who, he argues, have whitewashed the history surrounding the Armenian Genocide, and also "worries that 'a genocide fixation' has blinded both sides to all shades of gray".][
In a ''New York Times'' review, ]Dwight Garner
Dwight Garner (born January 8, 1965) is an American journalist and longtime writer and editor for ''The New York Times''. In 2008, he was named a book critic for the newspaper. He is the author of ''Garner's Quotations: A Modern Miscellany'' and ...
calls the book "murky and uneven" and "as much memoir as proper history".[ In another ''New York Times'' review, Joseph O'Neill writes that de Bellaigue investigates the situation on the ground "brilliantly and evenhandedly (if occasionally emotively). Analytically, however, he can be abrupt." Reviewing ''Rebel Land'' in ''The Telegraph'', Sameer Rahim called it "a fascinating book".
]
Bibliography
* ISBN 978-0066209807
*''The Struggle for Iran'' (2007). New York: New York Review of Books. ISBN 9781590172384
*''Rebel Land: Among Turkey's Forgotten People'' (2009). New York: The Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1594202520
*''Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup'' (2012). New York: Harper. ISBN 978-0061844706
*''The Islamic Enlightenment: The Modern Struggle Between Faith and Reason, 1798 to Modern Times'' (2017). New York: Liveright Publishing. ISBN 9780871403735
*''ReTargeting Iran'' (City Lights Publishers, 2020) (Written by David Barsamian, includes an interview with Christopher de Bellaigue). San Francisco: City Lights Books. ISBN 9780872868045
* ''The Lion House: The Coming of a King'' (2022). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374279189
Documentaries
*'' Iran and Britain'' (BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 , February 200
External links
Profile at the ''New York Review of Books''
Interview at AsiaSource
Articles in ''Granta''
Articles in ''Harper's''
Articles in the ''London Review of Books''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Bellaigue, Chris
1971 births
Living people
Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
British expatriates in Iran
British male journalists
British writers
Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford
People educated at Eton College
The New York Review of Books people
Writers from London