Colin David Hugh Jones (born 12 December 1947) is a British historian of France and emeritus professor of history at

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

. Jones attended Hampton Grammar School. He then studied at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, 1967–71, where he obtained a

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

degree in modern history and modern languages (French) and

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...

, from where he obtained his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree in 1978. His doctoral thesis was supervised by

Richard Cobb Richard Charles Cobb (20 May 1917 – 15 January 1996) was a British historian and essayist, and professor at the University of Oxford. He was the author of numerous influential works about the history of France, particularly the French ...

. He began working as a temporary lecturer in history at

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

, 1972–73 before moving on to the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, where he remained until 1995. He was then appointed professor of history in the history department of the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

, where he stayed until 2006. He is known especially for his ''

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Biography of a City'', which won the Enid MacLeod Prize of the Franco-British Society as the book published in 2004 which contributed most to Anglo-French understanding. Jones was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens ...

for services to historical research and higher education. In 2015, Jones was elected a

Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales () is a national academy, learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh nation. The Learned ...

Main publications

*''Charity and'' Bienfaisance'': The Treatment of the Poor in the Montpellier Region 1740-1815'', Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 1982, xvi + 317 pp. *''The

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman ...

Companion to the French Revolution'', London: Longman, 1988, xiv + 473 pp.; Paperback edition, 1990 *''The Charitable Imperative: Hospitals and Nursing in Ancien Régime and Revolutionary France'', London:

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

, November 1989, xiii + 317 pp. *(With

John Ardagh John Ardagh (28 May 1928, Nyasaland – 26 January 2008, London) was a British journalist, writer and broadcaster. He was educated at Sherborne School, Dorset, and Worcester College, Oxford, where he studied classics and philosophy. From 1953 unt ...

), ''Cultural Atlas of France,'' New York and Oxford: Facts on File, 1991, 240 pp.; French, German, Dutch, Polish translations *''The Cambridge Illustrated History of France'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994, 352 pp. Paperback edition, 1999; German, Korean, Chinese translations *(With Laurence Brockliss) ''The Medical World of Early Modern France'', Oxford:

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1997, xii + 960pp. *''The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon 1715-99'', London: Penguin, 2002, xxx + 651pp.; US hardback edition published by Columbia University Press, 2003 *''Madame de Pompadour: Images of a Mistress'', London: National Gallery Publications with

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

, 2002), 176 pp. Associated with the international exhibition on the same topic held in Versailles, Munich and at the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

, 2002 *''Paris: Biography of a City'', London: Allen Lane/Penguin, 2004, xxviii + 643 pp. US edition, 2005, Penguin/Viking; paperback, 2006; Russian and Chinese translations. Awarded the Enid McLeod Prize of the Franco-British Society as the book published in 2004 which contributed most to Anglo-French understanding. *''The Fall of

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...

: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris''. Oxford University Press, 2021. *''The Shortest History of France''. Old Street, 2025.

References

Colin Jones personal website

Queen Mary, University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

, retrieved 2008-05-20
Academic Profile
retrieved 2008-05-20

retrieved 2008-05-20

retrieved 2008-05-20

at Queen Mary, University of London, Department of History, retrieved 2008-05-20

Penguin UK Authors, retrieved 2008-05-20

retrieved 2008-05-20 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Colin Living people 1947 births 20th-century British historians 21st-century British historians People educated at Hampton School Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford Academics of Newcastle University Academics of the University of Exeter Academics of the University of Warwick Academics of Queen Mary University of London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Presidents of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales Fellows of the British Academy Historians of the French Revolution