Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore (; born 27 June 1965) is a British

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

, television presenter and author of

popular history Popular history is a broad genre of historiography that takes a popular approach, aims at a wide readership, and usually emphasizes narrative, personality and vivid detail over scholarly analysis. The term is used in contradistinction to professio ...

books and novels, including ''Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar'''' (2003), Monsters: History's Most Evil Men and Women (2008), Jerusalem: The Biography'' (2011), ''

The Romanovs 1613–1918 ''The Romanovs 1613–1918'' is a 2016 history book by Simon Sebag Montefiore.The Romanovs: 1613-191''New York Times'' Retrieved July 7, 2017 The book is about the Romanov Dynasty The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Ром ...

'' (2016), among others.

Early life

Simon Sebag Montefiore was born in London. His father was psychotherapist Stephen Eric Sebag Montefiore (1926–2014), a great-grandson of the banker Sir

Joseph Sebag-Montefiore Sir Joseph Sebag-Montefiore (born 29 August 1822 in London, died 19 January 1903 in London) was a British banker, stockbroker and politician. He was the son of Solomon Sebag and his wife Sarah Montefiore. He married Adelaide Cohen, daughter of Lou ...

(1822-1903), the nephew and heir of the wealthy philanthropist Sir

Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London, afte ...

considered by some "the most important Jew of the 19th century". Simon's mother was Phyllis April Jaffé, (1927–2019) from the Lithuanian branch of the

Jaffe family The Jaffe family (Hebrew: יפה) is an Ashkenazi Jewish Rabbinic family originally from Dampierre, France. The family descends from the 12th century Tosafist, Elhanan Jaffe of Dampierre (died 1184). Members of the family have produced numero ...

. Her parents fled the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

at the beginning of the 20th century. They bought tickets for New York City, but were cheated, being instead dropped off at

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland. Due to the

Limerick boycott The Limerick boycott, also known as the Limerick pogrom, was an economic boycott waged against the small Jewish community in Limerick, Ireland, between 1904 and 1906. It was accompanied by assaults, stone throwing and intimidation, which caused m ...

in 1904 her father Henry Jaffé left the country and moved to

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, England. Simon's brother is

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore Nicholas Hugh Sebag-Montefiore (born 5 March 1955) is a British writer. He trained as a barrister before becoming a journalist and then a non-fiction writer. His second book ''Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man'' was published in 2006. His previous b ...

. The Montefiore family are descended from a line of wealthy

Sephardi Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

who were diplomats and bankers all over Europe and who originated from Morocco and Italy. After the

Alhambra Decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492, by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ( Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Arag ...

was issued against the Jews in Spain of 1492, some of Montefiore's ancestors stayed in the country whilst remaining secretly Jewish. During the reign of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

, one of them became governor of a province of Mexico, where he and his family were denounced by a political rival and tortured by the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

. Two teenaged girls were burned alive in Mexico City while a son escaped to Italy and changed his name to Montefiore. Sebag Montefiore was educated at

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent boys preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed as a master at Elstree School, which sent boys ...

and

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

where he was editor of the school newspaper, ''The Harrovian''. In the autumn of 1983 he interviewed

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

for ''The Harrovian''. He won an

Exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

to read history at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

where he received his Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD).

Career

Montefiore worked as a banker, a foreign affairs journalist, and a war correspondent covering the conflicts during the fall of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Montefiore's book ''

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

& Potemkin'' was shortlisted for the

Samuel Johnson Prize The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, is an annual British book prize for the best non-fiction writing in the English language. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award. With its m ...

, the

Duff Cooper Prize The Duff Cooper Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of history, biography, political science or occasionally poetry, published in English or French. The prize was established in honour of Duff Cooper, a British diplomat, C ...

, and the

Marsh Biography Award {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Marsh Biography Award was a British literary award, given to the author of the best biography written in the previous two years by a British author. It was established in 1987 and was presented biennially until ...

. '' Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar'' won History Book of the Year at the 2004

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by '' The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Nationa ...

. ''Young Stalin'' won the ''

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' Book Prize for Best Biography, the Costa Book Award, the

Bruno Kreisky Award The Bruno Kreisky Prize for Human Rights is a biennial award created in October 1976 on the occasion of the 65th birthday of Bruno Kreisky. The laureates are rewarded for their achievements in the field of human rights. The prize was divided in 199 ...

for Political Literature, Le Grand Prix de la Biographie Politique and was shortlisted for the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Unit ...

. ''Jerusalem: The Biography'' was a number one non-fiction ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' bestseller and a global bestseller and won The Jewish Book of the Year Award from the

Jewish Book Council The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. His latest history book is ''The Romanovs, 1613–1918''. Montefiore's debut novel ''King's Parade'' was published in 1991. ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' called the book "embarrassing" and "extremely silly". Montefiore is also the author of the novels ''One Night in Winter'' and ''Sashenka''. ''One Night in Winter'' won the Political Novel of the Year Prize and was longlisted for the Orwell Prize. He is a Fellow of 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 ...

and a Visiting Professor of Humanities at the

University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chance ...

Personal life

Montefiore lives in London with his wife, the novelist

Santa Montefiore Santa Montefiore (; born 2 February 1970) is a British author. Early life Santa Montefiore was born Santa Palmer-Tomkinson on 2 February 1970 in Winchester. Her parents are Charles Palmer-Tomkinson, formerly High Sheriff of Hampshire, and Pa ...

, and their two children. The couple are friends of

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

and the Queen Consort.

Films and TV drama series

Several of Montefiore's books are now being developed as either films or TV drama series. In February 2017,

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

announced that she was developing "Simon Sebag Montefiore's ''Catherine the Great and Potemkin''" with

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. Also in early 2017, the film studio

Lionsgate Films Lionsgate Films (formerly known as Cinépix Film Properties) is an American film production and film distribution studio, headquartered in Santa Monica and founded in Canada, and is the flagship division of Lionsgate Entertainment. It is the larg ...

announced it had bought Montefiore's ''Jerusalem: the Biography'' to make it into a long running multi episodic TV drama series which will be "character-driven, action-filled account of war, betrayal, faith, fanaticism, slaughter, persecution and co-existence in the universal holy city through the ages." Montefiore has likened it to

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

. The film scriptwriter and director

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, '' Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. He won an Academy ...

has been attached to the project to adapt the book for television, and he will also be acting as producer. In April 2016,

21st Century Fox Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media corporation that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, f ...

announced that its animated division

Blue Sky Studios Blue Sky Studios, Inc. was an American computer animation studio based in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was founded on February 22, 1987 by Chris Wedge, Michael Ferraro, Carl Ludwig, Alison Brown, David Brown, and Eugene Troubetzkoy after their e ...

, makers of the Ice Age series, had bought "Royal Rabbits of London", the children's series of books written by Montefiore and Santa Montefiore, to develop into an animated feature film. In July 2018 it was announced that the screenwriter Will Davies has been attached to the project to adapt the book for the screen. Also in July 2018, it was announced that

Hat Trick Productions Hat Trick Productions is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. History Hat Trick Productions was founded in 1986 by Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville ...

had taken up an option on Montefiore's novel ''One Night in Winter'', in order to make a TV adaption.

Reviews

Montefiore's last non-fiction book ''The Romanovs 1613–1918'' (2016) was accused of containing several historical errors by Swedish historian

Dick Harrison Dick Walther Harrison (born 10 April 1966) is a Sweden, Swedish historian. He is currently a Professor of History at Lund University. His main areas of interest are the European Middle Ages, including the medical history of the period and the h ...

. However, it has also received many favourable reviews.

Olga Grushin Olga Grushin (born June 1971) is a Russian-American novelist. Biography Born in Moscow to the family of Boris Grushin, a prominent Soviet sociologist, Olga Grushin spent most of her childhood in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

in the ''New York Times'' observed that the book is "Spellbinding ... This monumental work is an essential addition to the library of anyone interested in Russian history."

Stephen Kotkin Stephen Mark Kotkin (born February 17, 1959) is an American historian, academic, and author. He is currently the John P. Birkelund '52 Professor in History and International Affairs at Princeton University, where he is also co-director of the pro ...

in the ''Wall Street Journal'' praised the book and noted that "No author writes better than Montefiore whose perceptiveness and portraiture here are frequently sublime ... a marvellous read and the last third from ''fin de siecle'' insanity to revolutionary cataclysm is dazzling." The historian

Antony Beevor Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works on the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War. Early life Born in Kensington, Beevor was educated at two ...

noted that the book provided "Epic history on the grandest scale". For ''The Observer'' John Kampfner described Montefiore's book as "Riveting ... the research is meticulous and the style is captivating".

Fiction reviews

Montefiore has written a Moscow Trilogy of fictional thrillers, set in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. These have received positive reviews. ''Sashenka'' (2008) was described by the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' as "Spellbinding. ''Sashenka'' is a historical whodunit with the epic sweep of a Hollywood movie. Montefiore is a natural storyteller who brings his encyclopedic knowledge of Russian history to life in language that glitters like the ice of St Petersburg". The ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' praised "This superb novel. ''Sashenka'' is unforgettable. Inspiring. Montefiore proves a matchless storyteller, his prose harrowing and precise." ''One Night in Winter'' (2013) was described by ''

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 ...

'' as "A gripping thriller about private life and poetic dreams in Stalin's Russia ... A gripping pageturner ... Whether its subject is power or love, a darkly enjoyable read." The last novel in the trilogy, ''Red Sky at Noon'' (2017), was called "a deeply satisfying pageturner – mythic and murderous" by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' and "brilliant on multiple levels ... offering historical accuracy, a fine empathy for his characters and a story that illuminates the operatic tragedy of Stalin's Russia" by ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

''.

Books

;Non-fiction * ''Catherine the Great and Potemkin'' (2001) (originally published as ''The Prince of Princes: The Life of Potemkin'') * '' Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar'' (2003) * ''Young Stalin'' (2007) * '' Monsters: History's Most Evil Men and Women'' (2008) * '' Jerusalem: The Biography'' (2011) * ''Titans of History'' (2012) * ''

'' (2016) * ''The World: A Family History of Humanity'' (2022) ;Fiction * ''King's Parade'' (1991) * ''My Affair with Stalin'' (1997) * ''Sashenka'' (2008) * ''One Night in Winter'' (2013) * ''Red Sky at Noon'' (2017) ;Children's books (with Santa Montefiore) * ''Royal Rabbits of London'' (2016) * ''Royal Rabbits of London: Escape from the Tower'' (2017)

Television

*''Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City'', 3 part series, 8 December 2011 – 23 December 2011 *''Rome: A History of the Eternal City'', 3 part series, 5–19 December 2012 *''Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities'', 3 part series, 5 December 2013 – 19 December 2013 *''Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain'', 3 part series, 8 December 2015 – 22 December 2015 *''Vienna: Empire, Dynasty And Dream'', 3 part series, 8 December 2016 – 22 December 2016

CDs

*''Speeches that Changed The World''

DVDs

*Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City, BBC, 2011
Byzantium and the History of Faith

References

External links

Author website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montefiore, Simon Sebag 1965 births Living people People educated at Ludgrove School People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge English people of Moroccan descent British people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent English Sephardi Jews British writers British historians Jewish historians British Jewish writers Historians of Russia Academics of the University of Buckingham Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Stalinism-era scholars and writers

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...