Philip Mansel is a British historian

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 and the author of a number of books about revolutionary and post-revolutionary France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. He was born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1951 and educated at Eton College

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

, Balliol College, Oxford, and University College London

University College London

University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

.

Career

Mansel's first book, Louis XVIII, was published in 1981 and this - together with subsequent works such as Paris Between Empires 1814-1852 (2001) - established him on both sides of the Channel as an authority on the later French monarchy. Six of his books have been translated into French.

Altogether Mansel has published nine books of history and biography, mainly relating either to France or to his other main area of interest, the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

: Sultans in Splendour was published in 1988 and Constantinople: City of the World's Desire 1453-1924 in 1995.

In 1995, Mansel was a co-founder of the Society for Court Studies, together with David Starkey

David Starkey

David Starkey, CBE, FSA is a British constitutional historian, and a radio and television presenter.He was born the only child of Quaker parents, and attended Kendal Grammar School before entering Cambridge through a scholarship. There he specialised in Tudor history, writing a thesis on King...

, Robert Oresko and Simon Thurley

Simon Thurley

Simon John Thurley, CBE, FRIBA, F.R.Hist.S. is an academic and architectural historian, and the present Chief Executive of English Heritage .-Early life and education:...

, and he is the editor of the Society's journal, The Court Historian

The Court Historian

The Court Historian is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by The Society for Court Studies covering research in the field of court history. The journal is published twice a year and features articles on the history of royal and princely courts from the late Middle Ages to the present...

. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society

Royal Historical Society

The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...

, the Institute of Historical Research

Institute of Historical Research

The Institute of Historical Research is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate House. The Institute was founded in 1921 by A. F...

 (University of London), and the Royal Asiatic Society

Royal Asiatic Society

The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was established, according to its Royal Charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia." From its incorporation the Society...

, and a member of the Conseil Scientifique of the Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles.

Books

• Louis XVIII (London, Blond and Briggs, 1981)
• Pillars of Monarchy: An Outline of the Political and Social History of Royal Guards, 1400-1984 (New York, Quartet Books, 1984)
• The Eagle in Splendour: Napoleon I and His Court (London, George Philip, 1987)
• The Court of France: 1789-1830 (New York, Cambridge University Press, 1988)
• Sultans in Splendour: The Last Years of the Ottoman World (New York, Vendome, 1989)
• Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453-1924 (New York, St. Martin's, 1995)
• The French Émigrés in Europe and the Struggle against Revolution: 1789-1814 (New York, St. Martin's Press, 1999) (Editor, with Kirsty Carpenter)
• Paris Between Empires, 1814-1852 (London, John Murray, 2001)
• Prince of Europe: The Life of Charles-Joseph De Ligne, 1735-1814 (London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003)
• Dressed to Rule: Royal and Court Costume from Louis XIV to Elizabeth II (New Haven, Yale University Press, 2005)
• Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean (London, John Murray, 2010)