Dan Jones Books In Order

Publication Order of Essex Dogs Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Dan Jones is an award-winning journalist, TV presenter, and bestselling historical fiction novelist.

He has sold more than a million copies of his work across the globe, many of which have become “Sunday Times” and “New York Times” bestsellers. He has written works about historical events and topics such as Magna Carta and Peasants Revolt.

He is also the co-author of “The World Aflame” and “The Colour of Time,” which he co-authored with Marina Amaral.

In addition to his historical fiction, he has presented and written numerous TV series for “Channel 5” and “Netflix.”

His shows have been sold across more than 40 countries across the world and he has appeared in programs on channels such as “History,” the “BBC,” “Sky Atlantic,” and “Channel 4,” in addition to dozens of radio stations across the United States and the United Kingdom.

He was a consultant on “Knightfall,” the “A&E” series, and was the host and writer of the “Knightfall” podcast. Jones also made an appearance on the official film charting the history of “Game of Thrones” by “HBO.”

Going back to his schooling years, Dan Jones has asserted that he followed his nose when deciding what to study.

He loved studying history and hence studied medieval legal history with the intention of becoming a lawyer. In fact, most of his classmates ended up becoming lawyers.

He also intended to become a lawyer but hated that there were too many forms and never finished the application. Jones enrolled in Journalism school which would have him traveling to all manner of interesting and strange places.

In 2013, he was working for the sports desk at the “Guardian” when he had the opportunity to write about the Rugby World Cup, which opened even more doors. He would write columns and editorials for all manner of magazines and broadsheets.

As a journalist, his work has appeared on both sides of the Atlantic as he wrote for magazines such as “Literary Review,” “London Evening Standard,” “CNN,” “GQ,” “Washington Post,” and “Wall Street Journal.”

After ten years of writing columns for the “Standard,” he finally published his debut novel “The Plantagenets” in 2012. His works have been critically acclaimed with some being adapted into TV series.

Dan Jones is quite the reader and loves to read long-form journalism, fiction, and history in equal measure.

“American Tabloid,” by James Ellory is his favorite historical fiction work as it combines conspiracy theory, history, and period argot that grabs readers from the first page and never lets go to the last.

As for stylistic influences, his years of writing journalistic pieces have provided the most inspiration. He has said that journalism provided him with the feel, rhythm, and beat, which has translated quite well to historical fiction.

Structurally, he owes a lot to the models and theories of screenwriting, which provided him with the narrative shapes and tropes that he sometimes uses in his novels.

“The Plantagenets” by Dan Jones opens with a drunken outing and the sinking of a ship that leaves a future king dead and a country grappling with a succession crisis.

This causes a two-decade Civil War that ultimately results in two and a half centuries of Plantagenet rule.

The well-researched work delves into the bad, the good, the beautiful, and the ugly of the Middle Ages.

While Jones does not write any new material and most of this is what you may find in a history book, he knows how to tell a story. He is exceptional at telling the stories of important people in history.

For instance, she tells quite the fascinating story of Eleanor of Aquitane who led her sons in rebelling against her husband and was the mother of two kings.
Queen Eleanor was of course a prisoner several times over the years, even though she would regain her political power and went on to live into her seventies.
Dan Jones writes of the many countries lost, countries won, battles won and lost, and powerful people quartered, imprisoned, drawn, and tortured.
Showcasing the politics of the times, it explores important events such as the signing of the Magna Carta, the beginnings of the legal system, the power struggles between the families, and the deaths of powerful people.

Dan Jones’ novel “The Wars of the Roses” is set at the tail end of the 14th century.

Henry Bolingbroke is determined to inherit the crown ahead of his cousin who is the real successor. By his actions, he sets in motion momentous events and shows that the English throne could be taken by anyone willing to fight for it.

He sets his family on a collision course with other powerful families that ends with the Tudors taking power. Henry Tudor rises quite high from being imprisoned and not being allowed to own land given his Welsh background, to becoming king.

The author explores the complex political intrigues that set in option the fall of the warrior Plantagenets. Seemingly minor events led to a cascade that favored the rise of a minor noble of mixed English, French and Welsh blood.

The author also spends a lot of time analyzing the motivation of the duke of York, the Plantagenet Richard. Far from the popular characterization, Richard never set out to become king and was in fact pushed to become one.

He explores foreign policy, politics, and families over several decades, to demonstrate the slow but steady decline of the Plantagenets and the rise of the Tudors.

“The Templars” by Dan Jones is set in 1119 Jerusalem where a few dozen knights looking for purpose following the violence of the First Crusade establish a new order.

These elite warriors have given their lives to ensure the safety of Christian pilgrims heading to the Holy Land.

Over the following two centuries, The Templars rise in stature and prominence to become the medieval’s world most powerful religious order.

In this groundbreaking work, Dan Jones draws on original sources to document the depravity and heroism of the Christian holy warriors that had always been shrouded in mystery.

Sworn to celibacy and under the protection of the pope, they fight Islamic forces under the hot sun of the Holy Land finding their greatest nemesis in Saladin, the great Muslim Emperor who vowed to drive them from Muslim lands.

They would soon become experts at moving money and established the most innovative banking networks and waged wars on all that threatened their economic interests.

They would then face setbacks and would retreat to Cyprus, where they would also have to deal with a cash-strapped and vindictive king of France, who wants to steal the fortune they have amassed.