As co-presenter of the phenomenally successful podcast The Rest is History and author of numerous bestselling histories, Tom Holland can be credited with bringing major events from the past to life for millions of people, but his creative output has touched on fiction, biography, the Classics and the performing arts.
Born in 1968 in Oxfordshire, Holland graduated from Queen’s College, Cambridge and began his writing career with a series of Gothic horror novels; only later did he realize that it was history that truly moved him and allowed him to express ‘things that were deep inside’ himself. His decision to switch genres met with almost immediate success – his 2003 non-fiction debut Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize – and further historical works were soon to make his name.
Not one to shy away from thinking big, Holland excels at distilling vast topics into manageable narratives, including a study of the pivotal two centuries that saw Western Europe emerge from the so-called Dark Ages in 2008’s Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christianity. His later titles have explored the emergence of Islam, Rome’s first imperial dynasty, and the continued influence of Christian thought, while his 2023 Pax details life in Rome at the height of its powers – the seven decades from 69 CE that saw the destruction of Jerusalem and Pompeii but also the creation of the Colosseum and Hadrian’s Wall.
Alongside history, Holland’s strong work ethic and adaptability have seen him work on the Classics, including a much-acclaimed translation of Herodotus for Penguin that required meticulous application of his largely self-taught Greek; pen biographies of Æthelstan and Æthelflæd; write two plays; and, most recently, place his energy into the ‘immersive musical extravaganza’ Cleopatra, due to premiere in 2026.
