William Dalrymple

Author profile

born

in The United Kingdom

March 20, 1965

gender

male

website

http://www.williamdalrymple.uk.com

genre

Travel, History, Nonfiction

About this author

edit data

William Dalrymple was born in Scotland and brought up on the shores of the Firth of Forth. He wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller In Xanadu when he was twenty-two. The book won the 1990 Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award and a Scottish Arts Council Spring Book Award; it was also shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize. In 1989 Dalrymple moved to Delhi where he lived for six years researching his second book, City of Djinns, which won the 1994 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award. From the Holy Mountain, his acclaimed study of the demise of Christianity in its Middle Eastern homeland, was awarded the Scottish Arts Council Autumn Book Award for 1997; it was also shortlist...more William Dalrymple was born in Scotland and brought up on the shores of the Firth of Forth. He wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller In Xanadu when he was twenty-two. The book won the 1990 Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award and a Scottish Arts Council Spring Book Award; it was also shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize. In 1989 Dalrymple moved to Delhi where he lived for six years researching his second book, City of Djinns, which won the 1994 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award. From the Holy Mountain, his acclaimed study of the demise of Christianity in its Middle Eastern homeland, was awarded the Scottish Arts Council Autumn Book Award for 1997; it was also shortlisted for the 1998 Thomas Cook Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the Duff Cooper Prize. A collection of his writings about India, The Age of Kali, won the French Prix D’Astrolabe in 2005.

White Mughals was published in 2003, the book won the Wolfson Prize for History 2003, the Scottish Book of the Year Prize, and was shortlisted for the PEN History Award, the Kiryama Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

William Dalrymple is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Asiatic Society, and is the founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival.

In 2002 he was awarded the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for his ‘outstanding contribution to travel literature’. He wrote and presented the television series Stones of the Raj and Indian Journeys, which won the Grierson Award for Best Documentary Series at BAFTA in 2002. His Radio 4 series on the history of British spirituality and mysticism, The Long Search, won the 2002 Sandford St Martin Prize for Religious Broadcasting and was described by the judges as ‘thrilling in its brilliance... near perfect radio’. In December 2005 his article on the madrasas of Pakistan was awarded the prize for Best Print Article of the Year at the 2005 FPA Media Awards. June 2006 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa from the University of St Andrews “for his services to literature and international relations, to broadcasting and understanding”. In 2007, The Last Moghal won the prestigous Duff Cooper Prize for History and Biography. In November 2007, William received an Honourary Doctorate of Letters, Honoris Causa, from the University of Lucknow University “for his outstanding contribution in literature and history”, and in March 2008 won the James Todd Memorial Prize from the Maharana of Udaipur.

William is married to the artist Olivia Fraser, and they have three children. They now live on a farm outside Delhi.
(less)

combine editions
William Dalrymple's Books

Average rating: 4.00 · 10,928 ratings · 987 reviews · 25 distinct works · Similar authors

	City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple, Olivia Fraser (Illustrator) 4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 2,859 ratings — published 2001 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nine Lives 3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 1,785 ratings — published 2009 — 16 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857 4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 1,619 ratings — published 2006 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India 3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 1,305 ratings — published 2003 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In Xanadu: A Quest 3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 1,042 ratings — published 1989 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	From the Holy Mountain: A Journey among the Christians of the Middle East 4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 1,033 ratings — published 1997 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Age of Kali: Indian Travels & Encounters 3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 1,025 ratings — published 1998 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Return of a King: Shah Shuja and the First Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42 4.37 of 5 stars 4.37 avg rating — 123 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sacred India 4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2002	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Princes And Painters In Mughal Delhi, 1707 1857 3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 1998 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by William Dalrymple…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Quotes by William Dalrymple

“Partition was a total catastrophe for Delhi,’ she said. ‘Those who were left behind are in misery. Those who were uprooted are in misery. The Peace of Delhi is gone. Now it is all gone.”
― William Dalrymple, City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi

tags: delhi, india, travel, urdu

8 people liked it

“Mr William, he said, in my life six times have I crashed, and on not one occasion have I ever been killed.( Bevinda Singh taxi driver from City of Djinns”
― William Dalrymple

5 people liked it

“India has always had a strange way with her conquerors. In defeat, she beckons them in, then slowly seduces, assimilates and transforms them.”
― William Dalrymple, White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India

tags: india

1 person liked it

See all William Dalrymple's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
European Royalty: Jan 1 - Feb 1: Historical Fiction Group Read Nominations	8	36	Dec 16, 2008 08:43am
European Royalty: Jan. 1 - Feb. 1: Voting!	12	45	Dec 22, 2008 05:32am
Romance Readers R...: It's Just a Game Challenge (Quarterly)	531	646	Sep 28, 2010 08:01pm
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2011 Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC!	2299	549	Nov 30, 2011 09:05pm
The History Book ...: BIBLIOGRAPHY - BYZANTIUM (SPOILER THREAD)	62	84	Dec 29, 2011 08:15pm

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite William to Goodreads.