Peter Frankopan (born 22 March 1971) is a British historian, writer, and hotelier.

Early life and education

Frankopan is the second of five children born to Yugoslav-born

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

n Louis Doimi de Frankopan (1939–2018) and Swedish-born barrister and professor of international law Ingrid Detter. His elder sister is

Lady Nicholas Windsor Lady Nicholas Windsor (born Paola Louise Marica Doimi de Lupis, 7 August 1969) is the wife of Lord Nicholas Windsor, son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. Early life Lady Nicholas Windsor was born as Paola Louise Marica Doimi de Lupis. She use ...

. His father is Louis Doimi de Lupis, who claimed to be a member of the Frankopan family. He attended

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and then received a degree in

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

history from

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes ...

, before getting his

D.Phil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

. He is a senior research fellow at

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms ...

, and director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research. His areas of focus are the history of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

, the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, as well as the interdependence of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

. He has also studied

Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving writte ...

of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Writing career

Frankopan's first book of history, ''The First Crusade: The Call from the East'', was published in 2012. The book received a five-star review from

Nicholas Shakespeare Nicholas William Richmond Shakespeare FRSL (born 3 March 1957) is a British novelist and biographer, described by the '' Wall Street Journal'' as "one of the best English novelists of our time". Biography Born in Worcester, England to diplomat ...

in ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

''. He called it a "persuasive and bracing work" and said "Peter Frankopan is not yet well known, but he deserves to be."

Michael Dirda Michael Dirda (born 1948) is a book critic for the '' Washington Post''. He has been a Fulbright Fellow and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1993. Career Having studied at Oberlin College for his undergraduate degree in 1970, Dirda took an M.A. in 1974 ...

, in

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

, praised this "carefully researched book."

Thomas F. Madden Thomas F. Madden (born 10 June 1960) is an American historian, a former Chair of the History Department at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and Director of Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. A spe ...

, specialist on the Crusades, seems more critical: In 2015, Frankopan's book '' The Silk Roads: A New History of the World'' was published. Writing in the ''Telegraph'', Bettany Hughes praised it as a "charismatic and essential book", while

Anthony Sattin Anthony Sattin FRGS is a British journalist, broadcaster and travel writer. His main areas of interest is the Middle East and Africa, particularly Egypt, and he has lived and travelled extensively in these regions. Education Sattin completed a ...

, writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', called it "ambitious" and "full of insight but let down by factual errors". Frankopan's follow-up book, ''The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World'' (Bloomsbury Publishing), was published in 2018.

Hotels

In 2002, Frankopan and his wife Jessica opened Cowley Manor, a

boutique hotel Boutique hotels are small inventory, design driven, unique hotels with their own character, personality and storytelling at the heart of their concept. Positioning is secondary for these hotels as they focus on authenticity and personalization ...

and spa on a historic estate in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of J ...

. They have since expanded their hotel chain, which they named A Curious Group of Hotels, to include the Portobello Hotel in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Canal House in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

and L'Hotel Paris in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. The restaurant in L'Hotel Paris has been awarded a

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

Personal life

He played for the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

n national cricket team. In 2015, he said "That’s the achievement I’m proudest of – playing cricket for my country." He also plays for the Authors XI

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

team with other British writers and contributed a chapter to the book that team members collectively wrote about their first season playing together, ''The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon'' (2013). He and his wife Jessica, daughter of Sir Tim Sainsbury, have four children and live in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Together, they oversee a £14 million trust funded by her family's supermarket fortune.

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

External links

Frankopan's personal website

Frankopan's page
at the Faculty of History of the University of Oxford {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankopan, Peter 1971 births Living people Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Frankopan family English people of Croatian descent