Connor Iggulden (1971-02-24) 24 February 1971 (age 53) London, England
Pen name
C.F. Iggulden
Occupation
Author
Genre
Historical fiction
Notable works
Dangerous Book for Boys series Conqueror series Emperor series Wars of the Roses series Empire of Salt trilogy
Children
4
Connor Iggulden (/ˈɪɡəldɛn/; born (1971-02-24)24 February 1971) is a British author who writes historical fiction, most notably the Emperor and Conqueror series. He also co-authored The Dangerous Book for Boys with his brother Hal. In 2007, Iggulden became the first person to top the UK fiction and nonfiction lists at the same time.
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.[4] The couple have four children and live in Hertfordshire, England.[5]
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,[7] starting with Stormbird in 2013, Margaret of Anjou[8] (called Trinity in the UK) in 2014, Bloodline[9] in 2015, and Ravenspur[10] in 2016.
In 2017, he published a historical fiction novel called Dunstan,[11] 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 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.
Children's books
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.[12] 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.[13]
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.
Fantasy novels
In 2017, Iggulden released the first book in the fantasy series Darien: Empire of Salt, under the pen name C.F. Iggulden.[14] The second book, Shiang, was released in 2018 and was followed by The Sword Saint, in 2019.
Emperor series film adaptation
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.[15][16][17]
