Conn Iggulden#Conqueror series

Born in 1971 to an English father (who was an RAF pilot during the Second World War){{cite news|last1=Preston|first1=John|title=Conn Iggulden: addicted to heroism|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/5367357/Conn-Iggulden-addicted-to-heroism.html|access-date=19 April 2018|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=22 May 2009}} and an Irish mother, Iggulden went to Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary in Ruislip, Middlesex, then attended St Martins School in Northwood, before moving on to Merchant Taylors' School.{{cite news|last1=Sale|first1=Jonathan|title=Passed/Failed: An education in the life of author Conn Iggulden|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passedfailed-an-education-in-the-life-of-author-conn-iggulden-1802531.html|access-date=19 April 2018|work=The Independent|date=14 October 2009}} He then attended St Dominic's Sixth Form College, before studying English at the University of London, later going 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.{{cite book|first1=Fearne |last1=Cotton |author2-link=Holly Willoughby|first2=Holly|last2= Willoughby |url={{google books|id=iM1mfSyxm2sC|page=161|plainurl=yes}}|title=The Best Friends' Guide to Life |date=2010|publisher=Penguin Random House}} Iggulden eventually left teaching to write his first novel, The Gates of Rome, which was published in 2003.

He is married to Ella, who is from the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy, and whose family are craft pasta and ravioli producers in the region.{{Cite news|last=Quetteville|first=Harry de|date=12 October 2019|title=Paper planes, stink bombs and fire-starting: The Dangerous Book for Boys has a sequel, and it's less PC than ever|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/parenting/paper-planes-stink-bombs-fire-starting-dangerous-book-boys-has/|access-date=18 November 2020|issn=0307-1235}} The couple have four children and live in Hertfordshire, England.{{cite web|url=http://www.conniggulden.com/?page_id=2|title=About Conn Iggulden|access-date=26 August 2009|archive-date=12 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012011956/http://www.conniggulden.com/?page_id=2|url-status=usurped}}

In August 2014, Iggulden was one of 200 public figures who signed a letter to The Guardian, opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories|work=theguardian|date=7 August 2014 |access-date=26 August 2014}}

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Iggulden's debut book was The Gates of Rome (2003), the first in a five-part series entitled Emperor. The series is based around the life of Julius Caesar, from childhood (The Gates of Rome) to his eventual betrayal and death (The Gods of War). The author has written a fifth book in the series, Emperor: The Blood of Gods, which deals with the rise of Augustus and events after the end of The Gods of War. 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, titled Conqueror, based on the life of Mongol warlords Genghis, Ogedai, and Kublai Khan. The first book, Wolf of the Plains, was published on 2 January 2007. The second, Lords of the Bow, came out a year later. Bones of the Hills, the third book in the series, was released on 1 September 2008. In September 2010, Empire of Silver, which revolves around the life of Genghis Khan's son, Ogedai, was published.

Iggulden released a four-book series, the Wars of the Roses,{{cite news|url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/434231/War-Of-The-Roses-Stormbird-by-Conn-Iggulden-review|title=War of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden – review|date= 4 October 2013|first= Harry|last= Hodges|work=Daily Express|access-date=22 January 2015}} starting with Stormbird in 2013, Margaret of Anjou{{Cite web|url=http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/314120/wars-of-the-roses-margaret-of-anjou-by-conn-iggulden/9780425282427/|title=Wars of the Roses: Margaret of Anjou by Conn Iggulden |website=PenguinRandomHouse.com}} (called Trinity in the UK) in 2014, Bloodline{{Cite web|url=http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/314121/wars-of-the-roses-bloodline-by-conn-iggulden/9780399165382|title=Wars of the Roses: Bloodline by Conn Iggulden |website= PenguinRandomHouse.com}} in 2015, and Ravenspur{{Cite web|url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ravenspur-conn-iggulden/1123918446#/|title=Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors|last=Noble|first=Barnes &|website=Barnes & Noble|access-date=25 September 2017}} in 2016.

In 2017, he published a historical fiction novel called Dunstan,{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/284629/dunstan/|title=Dunstan, One Man Will Change the Fate of England by Conn Iggulden|website=www.penguin.co.uk|access-date=25 September 2017}} 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.

In 2021, Iggulden released a two-part Athenian series, The Gates of Athens and Protector. Set during the Greco-Persian Wars, it features the Battle of Marathon and the Battle of Thermopylae.

In 2022, he published the first in a two-part series, The Golden Age, titled Lion. Set a generation after his Athenian series, it follows Pericles' rise in Athens, the formation of the Delian League, and the Battle of the Eurymedon. His second and final book in the series, which came out in 2023, is titled Empire.

Iggulden has co-written a book with his brother Hal, The Dangerous Book for Boys. It covers around eighty topics, from building a soapbox racer and tying knots, to learning about famous battles and how to make potassium aluminium sulphate crystals.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6290333.stm |title=UK | Magazine | Conn who? |work=BBC News |date=24 January 2007 |access-date=27 July 2009}} It was released in the UK in June 2006, reprinted a month later, and was voted British Book of the Year at the Galaxy British Book Awards.

In September 2009, he published the children's book Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children, through HarperCollins. Iggulden has since written three separate stories to accompany it.{{Cite web |url=http://www.savethetollins.com/ |title=Save the Tollins website |access-date=30 September 2009 |archive-date=15 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915184308/http://www.savethetollins.com/ |url-status=dead }}

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In March 2006, Iggulden released a novelette entitled Blackwater, part of the Quick Reads initiative of World Book Day 2006. Being a thriller, Blackwater was a change in genre for the author, who had mainly written historical fiction up to that point.

In 2012, Iggulden added a further Quick Reads book to the list, Quantum of Tweed – The Man with a Nissan Micra – a comedy about an unwitting hitman.

In 2017, Iggulden released the first book in the fantasy series Darien: Empire of Salt, under the pen name C.F. Iggulden.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33245839-darien|title=Darien (Empire of Salt #1)|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=25 September 2017}} The second book, Shiang, was released in 2018 and was followed by The Sword Saint, in 2019.

In 2010, media coverage emerged of a proposed film, Emperor: Young Caesar, about the early life of Julius Caesar, covering the years from 92 BC to 71 BC, and based on the first two novels of Iggulden's Emperor series, The Gates of Rome and The Death of Kings. Exclusive Media Group hired Burr Steers to direct, after they had an adaptation penned by William Broyles and Stephen Harrigan.{{cite news|last=Bettinger|first=Brendan|title=17 Again Director Burr Steers Will Depict a Teenage Julius Caesar in Emperor: Young Caesar|url=https://collider.com/emperor-young-caesar-burr-steers-conn-iggulden-william-broyles-stephen-harrigan/|access-date=26 May 2010|newspaper=Collider|date=26 June 2013}}{{cite news|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|title=Burr Steers to Direct Julius Caesar Film Based on Conn Iggulden Novels|url=https://deadline.com/2010/05/burr-steers-to-direct-julius-caesar-film-based-on-conn-iggulden-novels-43923/|date=26 May 2010|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=26 June 2013}}{{cite news|last=Hazelton|first=John|title=Steers signs to direct Young Ceasar [sic]|url=http://www.screendaily.com/news/production/steers-signs-to-direct-young-ceasar/5014409.article#|access-date=26 June 2013|newspaper=Screen Daily|date=27 May 2010}}

• 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)

• Wolf of the Plains (2007, {{ISBN|978-0-00-720175-4}}) (titled Genghis: Birth of an Empire 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-385-34421-0}})
• Lords of the Bow (2008, {{ISBN|978-0-00-720177-8}}) (titled Genghis: Lords of the Bow 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-385-34279-7}})
• Bones of the Hills (2008, {{ISBN|978-0-00-720179-2}}) (titled Genghis: Bones of the Hills 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-385-34280-3}})
• Empire of Silver (2010, {{ISBN|978-0-00-728800-7}}) (titled Genghis: Empire of Silver 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-385-33954-4}})
• Conqueror (2011, {{ISBN|978-0-00-727114-6}})

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

• The Gates of Athens (2019)
• Protector (2021)

• Lion (2022)
• Empire (2023)

• Darien (2017) (Empire of Salt book #1) [as C.F. Iggulden]
• Shiang (2018) (Empire of Salt book #2) [as C.F. Iggulden]
• The Sword Saint (2019) (Empire of Salt book #3) [as C.F. Iggulden]

• 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)

• Blackwater (2006)
• Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children (2009)
• How to Blow Up Tollins (with Lizzy Duncan) (2010)
• Quantum of Tweed – The Man with the Nissan Micra (2012)
• Dunstan (2017),{{cite web|last1=Johnson|first1=Ani|title=Dunstan: One Man Will Change the Fate of England by Conn Iggulden|url=http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Dunstan:_One_Man_Will_Change_the_Fate_of_England_by_Conn_Iggulden|date=May 2017|publisher=thebookbag.co.uk|access-date=19 April 2018}} a.k.a. The Abbot's Tale (USA, 2018)
• The Falcon of Sparta (2018)
• Nero (2024)

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Conn-Iggulden/171605342 Conn Iggulden] at Simon & Schuster
• [https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/73947/conn-iggulden Conn Iggulden] at Penguin Books
• [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/36275/conn-iggulden/ Conn Iggulden] at Random House

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Category:1971 births

Category:Alumni of the University of London

Category:Living people

Category:English historical novelists

Category:21st-century English novelists

Category:People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood

Category:Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity

Category:Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages

Category:English male novelists

Category:British psychological fiction writers

Category:21st-century English male writers