Dominic Selwood

Dominic Selwood FSA FRSA FRHistS (born 1970) is an English historian, journalist, author and barrister. He has written several works of history, historical fiction and historical thrillers, most notably The Sword of Moses. His background is in medieval history.

Dominic Selwood

FSA FRSA FRHistS
Born (1970-12-19) 19 December 1970
England
Occupation
Alma mater
Genre
  • Thriller
  • historical fiction
  • non-fiction
  • history
Notable worksThe Sword of Moses (2013)
Website
dominicselwood.com

Early life and career

Selwood was born on 19 December 1970[1] in England, and grew up in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in Cyprus[2] and in Germany. He went to school at Edge Grove School and Winchester College,[3] and studied law and French law at the University of Wales.

He was awarded a scholarship to the University of Poitiers, where a chance meeting in a local café with the publisher (and early sponsor of Private Eye)[4][5] Anthony Blond led to a collaboration on Blond's Roman Emperors.[6] His doctoral research on medieval religious and military life, specialising in the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller, the two leading military orders of the Crusades was undertaken as a member of New College, Oxford. While conducting his research, he won a research scholarship to the Sorbonne in the history of Byzantium and the Christian Near-East.

In 1997, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and he is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

He was called to the Bar in London by Lincoln's Inn,[7] joined a set of barristers' chambers in the Inner Temple, and was a member of the Western Circuit.[8] He is one of the founders of Arabesque Partners. In a 2014 interview he said that his work as a criminal barrister had been formative for writing thrillers.[9]

Selwood says he is "obsessed with the weirder side of the past",[10] and describes himself as a "deeply fuzzy and laissez-faire English Catholic".[11] He has spoken at schools, universities, literary festivals and the British Museum.[12][13][14][15]

Journalism and media

Newspapers and magazines

Selwood writes for the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper and is currently a resident history columnist, including the daily 'On this Day' column.[16] His writing has been described as a "must read",[17] "a fascinating change from the usual dusty history books",[18] and "strident debunkery".[19] He has also contributed to The Spectator, The Independent, CityAM, Prospect Magazine, and The Catholic Herald.

Television and radio

He appears regularly on television and radio as a historical commentator and adviser, and on discussion shows like the BBC's The Big Questions.

Works

Non-fiction
  • Punctuation Without Tears: Punctuate Confidently - in Minutes!, illustrated by Delia Johnson, (Corax, London, 2018) ISBN 978-0992633295, voted five stars by The Independent for putting simplicity and fun back into good writing.[20]
  • Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers: The History You Weren't Taught at School (Crux Publishing, London, 2015) ISBN 978-1909979338
  • Knights of the Cloister (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 1999) ISBN 978-0851158280, a study of the medieval Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller, the first to deal in detail with their lives and activities in the south of France (their European headquarters), demonstrating how they raised the manpower, money and weapons to support the crusades in the East.[21][22][23]

Fiction

Novels
  • The Apocalypse Fire (Canelo, London, 2016; Corax, London, 2016) ISBN 978-0992633271, a best-selling thriller described by the British Army's official magazine as "the best of James Bond and The Da Vinci Code".[24]
  • The Sword of Moses (Corax, London, 2013; Canelo, London, 2015) ISBN 978-0992633202, a best-selling thriller,[25] voted Editor's 'Pick of the Week' by the Daily Express (7 February 2014) and one of 'The Five Best Religious Thrillers of All Time' by BestThrillers.com (3 December 2014).[26]

Antiquarian Ghost Stories
  • Suffer the Children (Corax, London, 2015) ISBN 978-0992633233
  • The Voivod (Corax, London, 2015) ISBN 978-0992633257

Films
gollark: If I run them for 100 rounds, then grudger wins substantially.
gollark: It is -2.
gollark: Is that a problem?>
gollark: When I added vast swarms of tit-for-tat ones they did best. Interesting.
gollark: This is weird.

References
  1. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n99002828.html
  2. Selwood, Dominic. "Crusaders in the Clouds: Dominic Selwood Explores Northern Cyprus (Author Guided Tour)". The Big Thrill. International Thriller Writers. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  3. "Wykeham Journal". 2014. p. 1. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. "Anthony Blond, Obituary". The Daily Telepgraph. 1 March 2008.
  5. Barber, Michael (1 March 2008). "Anthony Blond, Obituary". The Guardian.
  6. Blond, Anthony (1994). Blond's Roman Emperors. London: Quartet Books. ISBN 978-0704370029.
  7. "Calls to the bar: 10 October 1997". London: The Independent. 10 October 1997. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  8. Selwood, Dominic. "About". Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  9. Bilyeau, Nancy. "Dominic Selwood: Turning History Into Thrills". A Bloody Good Read.
  10. Ingram. "Dominic Selwood (Interview, 11 February 2016)". Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  11. Selwood, Dominic (5 November 2014). "Guy Fawkes, Islamists, converts, and terrorism: some things never change". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  12. "Magna Carta: Birth of Democracy or Historical Fantasy?". Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  13. "Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival" (PDF). Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  14. "200 Years of the Elgin Collection". British Museum.
  15. "Classicism and nationalism: the Greek body in Enlightenment Europe". British Museum. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  16. "On this Day". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  17. Coppen, Luke (23 May 2014). "Must Reads". The Catholic Herald.
  18. "Lucianne.com". Lucianne.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  19. "Magna Carta". The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. 20 June 2014.
  20. "Punctuation Without Tears by Dominic Selwood, book review: Puts simplicity and fun back into good writing". 11 August 2018.
  21. Berman, Constance (July 2001). "Knights of the Cloister: Templars and Hospitallers in Central-Southern Occitania, c.1100-c.1300". Speculum. 76 (3): 793–795. doi:10.2307/2903949.
  22. Nicholson, Helen (2000). "Knights of the Cloister. Templars and Hospitallers in Central-Southern Occitania, 1100–1300 Dominic Selwood". English Historical Review. 115 (463): 930–931. doi:10.1093/ehr/115.463.930.
  23. Abulafia, David (October 2002). "Reviews of Books:Knights of the Cloister: Templars and Hospitallers in Central-Southern Occitania c.1100-c.1300 Dominic Selwood". American Historical Review. 107 (4): 1280–1281. doi:10.1086/532782.
  24. Roberts, Scott. "Soldier Magazine (Official Magazine of the British Army)". Ministry of Defence.
  25. Bilyeau, Nancy. "Dominic Selwood: Turning History Into Thrills". A Bloody Good Read.
  26. "The Five Best Religious Thrillers of all Time". BestThrillers.com. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  27. Revelation. "British Film Institute". Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  28. Selwood, Dominic. "Movies & TV". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  29. "Revelation (1991)". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
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