William Dalrynple is a Scottish-born bestselling author and historian. While studying at the University of Cambridge, he mirrored – on foot – the route of Marco Polo from Jerusalem to Mongolia and wrote his first book, In Xanadu about the journey. This became a bestseller and in 1990 he won the Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award and a Scottish Arts Council Spring Book Award. He has written several books about his travels, particularly around India, and his historical works have earned him several notable awards. Among them are the Wolfson Prize, the Scottish Book of the Year prize and three honorary doctorates of letters from the Universities of St Andrews, Lucknow and Aberdeen. His most recent written work The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company (2019) was shortlisted for numerous prizes. He is one of the co-founders and co-directors of the world’s largest writers festival, the annual Jaipur Literature Festival.

Events participated in:

The Golden Road: Watch eminent historian William Dalrymple CBE as he delivers a riveting lecture about his new book The Golden Road exploring how ancient India transformed the world. (2024)

The Uncommon Wealth: Join William Dalrymple and Dr Kojo Koram as they deep dive into the history of colonialism and the future of the Commonwealth with Oscar Guardiola-Rivera. (2023)

The Rise of the Festival: Listen to Hay, Edinburgh, and Jaipur Festival Chairs Caroline Michel, Allan Little, and William Dalrymple, as they discuss the rise of the festival and power of the spoken word with Oscar Guardiola-Rivera and Colin Grant. (2022)

Scotland: A Global History: Watch Murray Pittockas he unpicks Scotland’s global history and infuence with William Dalrymple. (2022)

Dispatches from Kabul: Join Allan Little with Eldridge Adolfo, Advisor to the EU Envoy to Afghanistan, Afghan rights campaigner Samina Ansari, Beyond Borders Fellow Mariam Safi, and William Dalrymple, as they discuss the crisis in Afghanistan. (2021)

Scots in the Empire: Participate in the inquisition, as Professor Geoff Palmer quizzes historian, William Dalrymple, and author of Blood Legacy, Alex Renton, about the Scots’ role in the British Empire and the institution of slavery. (2021)

The Prince Who Beat the Empire: Listen as William Dalrymple talks to Moin Mir about his book The Prince Who Beat the Empire– the moving story of the rebel prince who beat the world’s most powerful corporation: The East India Company. (2019)

Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company: William Dalrymple returns to Traquair House for an intimate chapel event discussing hisupcoming book and curated exhibition of a collection of extraordinary Indian artists between 1770 and 1857. (2019)

The East India Company: The Original Corporate Raiders: William Dalrymple returns to Traquair House to deliver another rousing talk about the East India Company, its legacy, and why the lessons of its brutal reign have never been more relevant. (2018)

The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World: Accompany Maya Jasanoff as she explores the 21st Century disruptive world through the fiction of one of the 20th Century’s most prophetic writers: Joseph Conrad. William Dalrymple asks the questions. (2018)

Midnight’s Children: Legacy of Partition: Join William Dalrymple as he explores theconsequences of the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 with Harvard Professor Sugata Bose, Tufts University Professor Ayesha Jalal, former Editor of Pakistan Daily Times Rashed Rahman, and best-selling author Ahmed Rashid. (2017)

William Dalrymple: The Writer’s Eye: William Dalrymple’s striking photographs mark an accomplished leap of form for the the much travelled writer. Shot over two years, they pay homage to the beauty and disquiet of landscape, form and time. Courtesy of Sunaparanta-Goa Centre for the Arts – Curator: Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi – Patrons: Dattaraj & Dipti Salgaoca. (2016)

Encountering the East: In 1984 William Dalrymple set off on a journey through Asia, returning one year later having written In Xanadu. Almost 30 years later, lawyer Isabel Buchanan was drawn to Pakistan, where she wrote Trials: On Death Row in Pakistan. Discover how the beguiling East inspired them to write their first books. (2016)

The Silk Road: Where East Meets the West: Explore how the Silk Roads, the crossroads of the world, shaped global history over the past 2000 years as writer and historian Peter Frankopan talks to William Dalrymple about his latest book. (2016)

Koh-i-Noor: The Real Jewel in the Crown: Author and historian William Dalrymple returns to Traquair House to give one of his dazzling lectures, this time on the secrets and history behind the Koh-i-Nor: the real jewel in the crown. Oscar Guardiola-Rivera introduces. (2016)

India in the 21st Century: Join William Dalyrmple as he talks to Indian writer and Member of Parliament, Dr Shashi Tharoor, about India in the 21st Century. (2015)

Mughals in Kilts: William Dalrymple gives one of his dazzling lectures on ‘Mughals in Kilts.’ (2015)

Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi: William Dalrymple returns to give a dazzling lecture on the art of the Mughals (1707-1857), as one great Empire gave way to another. (2014)

Return of the King: Meet Beyond Borders favourite, William Dalrymple, as he returns to Traquair to read from his new book, which examines the haunting parallels between Britain’s imperial adventures in Afghanistanin the 19th and 21st Centuries, as well as talk about his new project concerning the Indo-Pak rivalry. Magnus Linklater asks the questions. (2013)

Understanding the Islamic World: Join William Dalrymple as he talks to Sadakat Kadri about his journey through Sharia Law and the Sunni/Shia divide. Also Manny Ansar and former U.S. Diplomat Cynthia P. Schneider on why the West needs to reengage with the Islamic world. (2013)

The Last Mughal: Listen to the haunting songs of celebrated India singer, Vidya Shah, while William Dalrymple takes you on a journey through the poetry and intrigues of India’s last Mughal rule. (2012)

Pakistan – A Failing State?: William Dalrymple talks to Rashed Rahman, Editor of the Daily Times of Pakistan. (2011)

Tales from Afghanistan: Magnus Linklater talks to William Dalrymple and Des Browne about 19th and 20th-century British rule in Afghanistan. (2011)