King Edward VIII

Philip Ziegler was born in 1929 and educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, where he gained first class honours in Jurisprudence. He then joined the Diplomatic Service and served in Vientiane, Paris, Pretoria and Bogota before joining the publishers William Collins, where he was editorial director for fifteen years. His many books include biographies of William IV, Lady Diana Cooper, Louis Mountbatten and Harold Wilson, as well as the classic history of the Black Death.

'Philip Ziegler is a master of biographical narrative ...Seldom has such exhaustive research been made so compellingly readable' Michael Holroyd 'Ziegler has told Edward's story with consummate skill' Sarah Bradford, Sunday Times 'Beautifully written and constructed' Michael Bloch, Sunday Telegraph 'Ziegler writes with urbanity and generosity but is unflinching in his judgements ... an exemplary biography' Richard Davenport-Hines, Times Literary Supplement 'A splendid book of impeccable scholarship, admirably written, moving, ironical and at times very amusing ...' Robert Blake, Country Life 'A book of such compelling interest and frankness that it is difficult to put down ... a very fine book' New York Times Book Review 'I found Ziegler's book riveting' Paul Barker, Listener 'He writes brilliantly' Christopher Hudson, Evening Standard