Connor Iggulden (; born ) is a British author who writes

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

, most notably the ''Emperor'' series and ''Conqueror'' series. He also co-authored '' The Dangerous Book for Boys'' along with his brother Hal Iggulden. In 2007, Iggulden became the first person to top the UK fiction and non-fiction charts at the same time.

Background

Born in 1971 to an English father (who was an RAF pilot during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, ) and Irish mother (whose grandfather was a

seanchaí A seanchaí ( or – plural: ) is a traditional Gaelic storyteller/historian. In Scottish Gaelic the word is (; plural ). The word is often anglicised as shanachie ( ). The word ''seanchaí'', which was spelled ''seanchaidhe'' (plural '' ...

). He went to Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary in

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London, and in the historic county of Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, then attended St Martins School in Northwood, before moving on to Merchant Taylors' School. He then went to St Dominic's Sixth Form College, before he studied English at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, and went on to teach the subject for seven years, becoming head of the English department at Haydon School, where one of his students was

Fearne Cotton Fearne Wood ( Cotton; born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author''.'' She began her career in the late 1990s presenting various children's television shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. In 2007, she presented '' The Xtra Factor'', ...

. He eventually left teaching to write his first novel, ''

The Gates of Rome Connor Iggulden (; born ) is a British author who writes historical fiction, most notably the ''Emperor'' series and ''Conqueror'' series. He also co-authored '' The Dangerous Book for Boys'' along with his brother Hal Iggulden. In 2007, Iggul ...

''. He is married to Ella, who is from the

Amalfi Coast The Amalfi Coast ( it, Costiera amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. It is located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula and north of the Cilentan Coast. Celebrated worldwide ...

in Southern Italy and whose family are renowned craft

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...

and

ravioli Ravioli (; singular: ''raviolo'', ) are a type of pasta comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough. Usually served in broth or with a sauce, they originated as a traditional food in Italian cuisine. Ravioli are commonly square, though o ...

specialist producers in the region. They have four children and live in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England, near Chorleywood Golf Club. In August 2014, Iggulden was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter 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 ...

'' opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Career

Historical fiction

Iggulden's debut book was ''

'', the first in a currently five-part series entitled ''Emperor''. The series is based around the life of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

, from childhood (''The Gates of Rome'') to his eventual betrayal and death (''The Gods of War''). The film option has been sold to Spitfire Productions (an Intermedia company). The author has written a fifth book in the series, ''Emperor: The Blood of Gods'', which deals with the rise of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

and events after the end of ''

The Gods of War Connor Iggulden (; born ) is a British author who writes historical fiction, most notably the ''Emperor'' series and ''Conqueror'' series. He also co-authored '' The Dangerous Book for Boys'' along with his brother Hal Iggulden. In 2007, Iggul ...

''. This book was published on 26 September 2013. After completing the fourth book in the ''Emperor'' series, Iggulden began research for his next series of books, the ''Conqueror'' series, based on the life of

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

warlords

Genghis ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr /> Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

, Ogedai and

Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...

. His first book, '' Wolves of the Plains,'' was available from 2 January 2007. Then followed his second book, '' Lord of the Bows'', on 2 January 2008. ''

Bones of the Hills ''Bones of the Hills'' (known as ''Genghis: Bones of the Hills'' in America) is the third book of the ''Conqueror'' series, based on the life of Mongol gurkhan Genghis by Conn Iggulden. It focuses mainly on the Mongol invasion of Islamic Cent ...

'', the third book in the series, was released on 1 September 2008. In September 2010 '' Empire of Silver'' was released, which revolves around the life of Genghis Khan's son, Ogedai. Whilst Iggulden had initially confirmed on his official website that he would be writing two more books after ''Empire of Silver'' on Kublai Khan, the author's note at the end of ''Conqueror'' states that it would be the last in the series. Iggulden explains his desire to leave the character when he still had much left to accomplish, rather than tracing him through to his eventual downfall, as he did with

and

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

. Iggulden released a four-book series, the ''Wars of the Roses'' series, starting with ''Stormbird'' in 2013, ''Margaret of Anjou'' (called ''Trinity'' in the United Kingdom) in 2014, ''Bloodline'' in 2015, and ''Ravenspur'' in 2016. In 2017, Iggulden published a historical fiction novel called ''Dunstan'', chronicling the life of the 10th century monk and political adviser to the Saxon Kings of England, St. Dunstan. In 2018, Penguin Books released a historical novel called '' The Falcon of Sparta'', about the effort of Prince Cyrus to become King of Persia and the stranded 10,000 Greek mercenaries who walked out of Persia while pursued by the King's armies following the

Battle of Cunaxa The Battle of Cunaxa was fought in the late summer of 401 BC between the Persian king Artaxerxes II and his brother Cyrus the Younger for control of the Achaemenid throne. The great battle of the revolt of Cyrus took place 70 km north of Bab ...

Children's books

Iggulden co-wrote a book with his brother Hal, '' The Dangerous Book for Boys''. It covers around eighty topics, from building a

soapbox A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. The term originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden crate originally used for shipme ...

racer and tying

knot A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...

s, to learning about famous battles and how to make potassium aluminium sulphate crystals. It was released in the UK in June 2006, reprinted a month later and was voted

British Book of the Year 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 National ...

at the Galaxy British Book Awards. In September 2009 he wrote a children's book ''Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children'' through HarperCollins. Iggulden has since written three stories to accompany the story of the Tollins.

Other works

In March 2006, Iggulden released a novelette entitled ''Blackwater'', part of the ''Quick Reads'' initiative of

World Book Day World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing, and copyrig ...

2006. Being a thriller, ''Blackwater'' was a change in genre for Iggulden who had mainly written historical fiction. In 2012 Iggulden added a further quickreads book to the list ''Quantum of Tweed – The Man with a Nissan Micra'' – a comedy about an unwitting hitman.

Fantasy novels

In 2017, Conn Iggulden released the first book in his first fiction fantasy series, ''Darien: Empire of Salt''. This series is being published under the pen name C.F. Iggulden to avoid confusion with Iggulden's historical fiction novels. The second book in the series, Shiang, was released on 2018 followed by The Sword Saint in 2019.

Emperor series film adaptation

In 2010, there was media coverage toward a proposed epic film ''Emperor: Young Caesar'' to be about the early life of

covering the years from 92 BC to 71 BC and based on the first two novels of Iggulden's Emperor series, ''

'' and '' The Death of Kings''.

Exclusive Media Group Exclusive may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Exclusive'' (album), by R&B singer Chris Brown * ''Exclusive'' (EP), an EP by U2 * ''Exclusive'', a 1937 American film * ''Exclusive'', a 1989 play by Jeffrey Archer * ''Exclusive'' (TV series ...

hired

Burr Steers Burr Gore Steers is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. His films include ''Igby Goes Down'' (2002) and '' 17 Again'' (2009). He is a nephew of writer Gore Vidal. Family Steers was born in Washington, D.C. His father, Newton Ivan ...

to direct after they had an adaptation penned by

William Broyles William Dodson Broyles Jr.
Filmreference.com. Accessed November 28, 2022. (born October 8, 1944) is an A ...

and Stephen Harrigan.

Bibliography

''Emperor'' series

*''The Gates of Rome'' (2003) *''The Death of Kings'' (2004) *''The Field of Swords'' (2005) *''The Gods of War'' (2006) *''The Blood of Gods'' (2013)

''Conqueror'' series

*''

Wolf of the Plains ''Wolf of the Plains'' ( 2007) is a historical novel from English author Conn Iggulden. It is the first book in the Conqueror series based on the Mongols of the Asian steppes. It is titled ''Genghis: Birth of an Empire'' in the United States. ...

'' (2007, ) (titled ''Genghis: Birth of an Empire'' 2010, ) *''

Lords of the Bow ''Lords of the Bow'' (known as ''Genghis: Lords of the Bow'' in America) is the second book of the ''Conqueror'' series, based on the life of Mongol warlord Genghis Khan by Conn Iggulden. The book follows Genghis' completion of the consolidatio ...

'' (2008, ) (titled ''Genghis: Lords of the Bow'' 2010, ) *''

'' (2008, ) (titled ''Genghis: Bones of the Hills'' 2010, ) *'' Empire of Silver'' (2010, ) (titled ''Genghis: Empire of Silver'' 2010, ) *'' Conqueror'' (2011, )

''Wars of the Roses'' series

*''Stormbird'' (2013) *''Trinity'' (2014) (titled "Margaret of Anjou" in North America) *''Bloodline'' (2015) *''Ravenspur'' (2016)

Athenian series

* ''The Gates of Athens'' (2020) * ''Protector'' (2021)

''The Golden Age'' series

* ''Lion'' (2022)

''Empire of Salt'' series

* ''Darien'' (2017) (''Empire of Salt'' book #1) s C.F. Iggulden* ''Shiang'' (2018) (''Empire of Salt'' book #2) s C.F. Iggulden* ''The Sword Saint'' (2019) (''Empire of Salt'' book #3) s C.F. Iggulden

''Dangerous books''

*'' The Dangerous Book for Boys'' (2007) (with Hal Iggulden) *''The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Do'' (2007) (with Hal Iggulden) *''The Dangerous Book for Boys Yearbook'' (2007) (with Hal Iggulden) *''The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Know'' (2008) (with Hal Iggulden) *''The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Wonders of the World'' (2008) (with Hal Iggulden) *''The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Facts, Figures and Fun'' (2008) (with Hal Iggulden) *''The Dangerous Book of Heroes'' (2009) (with David Iggulden)

Other

*''Blackwater'' (2006) *'' Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children'' (September 2009) *''How to Blow Up Tollins'' (with Lizzy Duncan) (October 2010) * ''Quantum of Tweed – The Man with the Nissan Micra'' (2012) * ''Dunstan'' (2017), a.k.a. ''The Abbot's Tale'' (USA, 2018) *'' The Falcon of Sparta'' (2018) by Conn Iggulden

References

External links

*
Conn Iggulden page on publisher HarperCollins' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iggulden, Conn 1971 births Alumni of the University of London Living people English historical novelists 21st-century English novelists People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages English male novelists Psychological fiction writers 21st-century English male writers