# Dominic Selwood

Dominic Selwood FSA FRSA FRHistS (born 19 December 1970) is an English historian, author, journalist and barrister. He has written several works of history, historical fiction and historical thrillers, most notably The Sword of Moses. and Anatomy of a Nation. A History of British Identity in 50 Documents. His background is in medieval history. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter.

## Early life and career

Selwood was born on 19 December 1970 in England, and grew up in Salisbury, Cyprus, and Germany. He went to school at Edge Grove School and Winchester College, and studied law and French law at the University of Wales.
He was awarded a scholarship to the University of Poitiers, where a chance meeting in a local café with the publisher (and early sponsor of Private Eye) Anthony Blond led to a collaboration on Blond's Roman Emperors. His doctoral research on medieval religious and military life, specialising in the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller, the two leading military orders of the Crusades, was undertaken as a member of New College, Oxford. While conducting his research, he won a research scholarship to the Sorbonne in the history of Byzantium and the Christian Near-East, where he was awarded a double first class.
In 1997 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and he is also an elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
He was called to the Bar in London by Lincoln's Inn, joined a set of barristers' chambers in the Inner Temple, and was a member of the Western Circuit. In a 2014 interview he said that his work as a criminal barrister had been formative for writing thrillers. He is one of the founders of Arabesque Partners.
Selwood says he is "obsessed with the weirder side of the past", and describes himself as a "deeply fuzzy and laissez-faire English Catholic". He speaks regularly about history at schools, universities, literary festivals, learned societies and institutions like the British Library and British Museum.
Selwood served in the British Army Reserve, attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, before commissioning into the General Service Corps, reaching the rank of Captain.
In 2023 he was a non-fiction writing mentor for London Jewish Book Week's Genesis Emerging Writers' programme.

## Journalism and media
### Newspapers and magazines

Selwood writes as a non-political journalist for the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper and is currently a resident history columnist, including the daily 'On this Day' column. His writing has been described as a "must read", "a fascinating change from the usual dusty history books", and "strident debunkery". He has also written and reviewed for The Times Literary Supplement, The New Statesman, The Spectator, The Independent, CityAM, Prospect Magazine, The Harvard Business Review, The Tablet and The Catholic Herald.

### Television and radio

He appears regularly on television and radio as a historical commentator and adviser, and on discussion shows like the BBC's The Big Questions. He appears often on international news programmes explaining historical events, and is a regular on the Discovery Channel's prime time series Mysteries of the Abandoned.