An Ancient Origins Special Feature: An Interview with Dan Jones
Discussing the Life of England's Greatest Warrior King: Henry V
Prepare for an exclusive historical deep dive that will transport you through time and leave you with fresh perspectives on the most captivating moments in history.
Ancient Origins UNLEASHED and History Etc. unite in a one-of-a-kind, dynamic interview featuring best-selling author and historian Dan Jones. Join Petros and Dan as they explore untold stories, share fresh insights from some of history’s most captivating eras, and offer a sneak peek into Dan's highly anticipated new book—all with their signature blend of wit and engaging storytelling.
Whether you're a dedicated history buff or just love thrilling narratives, this interview is a must-watch event. Don't miss it!
About the Guest
Dan Jones is a New York Times bestselling historian, broadcaster and author. His books have sold more than one million copies worldwide and his documentaries include the Netflix series Secrets of Great British Castles. Jones's books include The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England, The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses and the Rise of the Tudors, and most recently, Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King.
Excerpt
Petros Koutoupis:
And welcome back to this Ancient Origins special feature. My name is Petros Koutoupis, and joining me today is renowned historian and author Dan Jones. We are here to talk about Atlantis and moon men. Just kidding. No, we're not. What we're here to talk about is Dan's latest book, latest publication, Henry V, The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior. So before we get started, Who's Dan Jones?
Dan Jones:
Me. Oh, well, I can tell you. Yeah, it's me. That's the short answer. But I am a historian. I'm based out of London, UK, but I travel back and forth to the US quite a lot. I've written, Henry V is my 15th book. So I've written about the Plantagenets, the Wars of the Roses, a lot of English medieval history. I've also written books on the Templars, the Crusades. I did a big history of the Middle Ages called Powers and Thrones. And I've done some historical fiction as well, the Essex Dogs Trilogy Plus. There's a Netflix series, Secrets of Great British Castles. I do a podcast called This Is History. I mean, I get around a little bit.
Petros Koutoupis:
Yeah, no, that's quite an impressive list of publications and work you have there. Now, let me ask, what? Now, before we get into Henry V, which I'm excited to talk about with you, what got you into this? Because it all seems to be around the same era, right? A lot of it, if not all. What got you into this field? What got you interested into this topic? Medieval history?
Dan Jones:
You know what, Petros, it was blind chance 25 years ago. I mean, almost to the day, actually. So back in 1999, I was finishing sixth form in the UK. That's like, I suppose, high school. I was 18, you know, and I'd been offered a place to read history at Cambridge University. Now, I didn't know anything really about Cambridge University. I didn't know a bunch of people who went there, nor did my teacher. But you get sent a form when you're going up to Cambridge to read history. And it says, what do you want to study? Because the Cambridge Tripos, as it's called, was then really open-ended. You could choose anything, any papers. You had to choose five for your first two years. And I said to my history teacher, Mr. Green, I said, look, I mean, we've studied the Tudors. We've studied the Nazis. I feel like I ought to branch out and do something different. What should I say I want to study? And he went, I think he was keen to get out the door. You know, he went, oh, just put medieval. Yeah, that'll do. And I ticked the box that said medieval. And a few months later, it's my first day at university. My director of study says, I see you want to be a medievalist. I'm like, yeah, sure, I guess. I ticked that box three months ago. Let's do it. And he sent me off to be supervised, to be taught by Helen Castor, who's a brilliant medievalist, and was then at Cambridge. So she taught me for my first two terms. And then I found my way into a brilliant school of English medieval history at Cambridge University as an undergraduate. And the sort of love for that period really stuck with me since. And when I started writing books, you know, narrative histories for a popular audience, I felt like the Middle Ages were fairly underserved at that time. I mean, this was pre-Game of Thrones. It was pre-Richard III being discovered under a car park. And it felt like an interesting area to start writing books for a general audience about because I felt like these stories from this age, the characters were fantastic, but maybe they weren't brilliantly well-known out there in the wider world.
