History Buff

Ahead of his appearance at Guildford Book Festival, historian, TV presenter and sports columnist Dan Jones tells Alexander Larman about his latest work and why living in Surrey is a privilege

- Alexander Larman

“I believe in redistribution of opportunity for the living, but not for the dead,” so speaks best-selling historian, TV presenter, sports columnist and proud Surrey resident Dan Jones. Certainly, opportunity has knocked at the 36-year-old’s door a plentiful number of times. He first came to international attention with his critically acclaimed and much admired 2012 book The Plantagenets, and since then has presented documentaries, offered incisive punditry on anything from the Olympics to this year’s election and written several more successful volumes. All this, and he rejoices in the nickname of ‘Castle Daddy’ amongst his many fans too. “I like to think it’s ironic but affectionate…”

The latest, The Templars, threatens to be his best yet. Combining a fascinating story with an almost novelistic narrative, it’s the literary equivalent of one of those miniseries that you never want to end. (Coincidentally, or not, Jones has served as historical adviser to the forthcoming Templars series Knightfall, produced by the film star Jeremy Renner and starring Downton Abbey’s Tom Cullen.)

Although The Da Vinci Code introduced the shadowy sect to public attention, Jones was interested for altogether more useful reasons. As he says, “It’s a historical subject that hits a sweet spot for me: the Templars have relatively high name recognition, but low familiarity. The story has not been told so many times that there is nothing to say, and it’s incredibly dramatic, epic and rich, and packed with the sort of action I love writing.”