Manu S. Pillai
Indian author and historian (born 28th February 1990)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manu S. Pillai (born 28th February 1990) is an Indian writer and popular historian.[1] He is known for his works covering the history of India from late medieval through colonial times, with his debut book, The Ivory Throne, winning the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar.[2]
Manu S. Pillai | |
|---|---|
Pillai in 2025 | |
| Born | 28 February 1990 |
| Occupation | Writer, historian |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | Fergusson College King's College London |
| Genre | Popular history |
| Website | |
| manuspillai | |
Early life and education
Manu S. Pillai was born in Mavelikkara, Kerala, in 1990, and grew up in Pune, Maharashtra.[3] He received a bachelor's degree in economics from Fergusson College and a master's degree in international relations from King's College London.[4] He holds a PhD in history (with a dissertation titled Rajas, Rani, Deity and Company) from King's College London.[5]
Career
Following his education, he worked with the parliamentary office of Shashi Tharoor in New Delhi and with Karan Bilimoria in London.[6][7] He also worked as a researcher on the BBC Radio 4 series Incarnations with Sunil Khilnani, which tells the story of India through fifty great lives.[8] In 2017, he became a full time author.[3][4]
Pillai's debut book The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore, about Rani Sethu Lakshmi Bhay's reign as the regent of Travancore, earned him the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2017.[2][9][10] As of 2019,[update] the story was expected to be adapted into a web series by Arka Media Works.[11]
Rebel Sultans, Pillai's second work, narrates the story of the late medieval Deccan Plateau over four centuries.[4] The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin is a collection released in 2019 consisting of historical anecdotes originally published as columns in various Indian newspapers.[12]
Pillai's 2021 book False Allies concerns the rulers of princely states during the British Raj, focusing on five states whose rulers patronized and were painted by Raja Ravi Varma.[1] In Gods, Guns and Missionaries, first released in India in 2024, Pillai outlines the history of Hinduism during India's colonization by Christian European states.[13]
Bibliography
- The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore. HarperCollins India, 2015. ISBN 9789351776420.
- Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji. Juggernaut, 2018. ISBN 9789386228734.
- The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History. Illustrated by Priya Kuriyan. Context, 2019. ISBN 9789388689786.
- False Allies: India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma. Juggernaut, 2021. ISBN 9789391165895.
- Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity. Penguin Allen Lane, 2024. ISBN 9780670093656.
