Manu S. Pillai (born 1990) is an Indian writer and popular historian.[1] Known for his works on the Travancore monarchy and the history of Princely India, he is most famous for his debut book, The Ivory Throne, which is about Rani Sethu Lakshmi Bhay's reign as the Regent of Travancore.
Manu S. Pillai | |
|---|---|
 Pillai in 2020 | |
| Born | 1990 (age 33–34) Mavelikkara, Kerala, India |
| Occupation | Writer, historian |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | Fergusson College King's College London |
| Genre | Popular history |
| Website | |
| manuspillai | |
Early life and education
editManu S. Pillai was born in Mavelikkara, Kerala in 1990. He grew up in Pune. He got his Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Fergusson College, Pune. He got a Master's Degree in International Relations from King's College London.
Following his education, he worked with the Parliamentary office of Shashi Tharoor in New Delhi and Lord Karan Bilimoria in London.[2] 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. In 2017, he became a full time historian and writer.[3][4] He holds a PhD in history from King's College London.[5]
Pillai is known for his debut non-fiction The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore for which he won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2017.[6][7][8] As of 2019,[update] the story was expected to be adapted into a web series by Arka Mediaworks.[9] Rebel Sultans, Pillai's second work, narrates the story of the Deccan from the close of the thirteenth century to the dawn of the eighteenth century. He has released two more books since, The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin and False Allies: India's Maharajas in the Age of Ravi Varma.[10][11]
List of works
edit- Pillai, Manu S. (2015). The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore. HarperCollins India. ISBN 9789351776420. OCLC 933390381.
- Chopra, Serena; Pillai, Manu S. (2016). Bhutan Echoes. Tasveer. ISBN 9781684198900. OCLC 1019840227.
- Pillai, Manu S. (2018). Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji. Juggernaut. ISBN 9789386228734. OCLC 1035266740.
- — (2019). The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History. Context. ISBN 9789388689786. OCLC 1127387282.
- — (2021). False Allies: India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma. Juggernaut. ISBN 9789391165895. OCLC 1275357775.
References
edit- ^ Balakrishnan, Paran (28 October 2021). "Manu Pillai, the wonderkid among Indian historical writers". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021.
- ^ "Manu S Pillai and Dr Shashi Tharoor". Mid-Day. 5 January 2020. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021.
- ^ Mallya, Vinutha (7 March 2019). "No easy answers". Pune Mirror. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019.
- ^ Cris (21 January 2016). "Travancore surprises". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016.
- ^ Pillai, Manu S. (1 February 2023). Rajahs, Ranis, Deity, and Company: Hindu Kingship in Travancore, c. 1750-1950 (PhD thesis). King's College London. OCLC 1372429233. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Manu S Pillai, Paro Anand among winners of Sahitya Akademi awards 2017". Hindustan Times. 23 June 2017. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017.
- ^ Sripathi, Apoorva (19 February 2016). "Manu Pillai's The Ivory Throne looks at the Travancore royal family". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017.
- ^ Thomas, Anjali (25 January 2020). "Kerala Literature Festival: historians warn against the selective reading of the past". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020.
- ^ Cris (20 March 2019). "'The Ivory Throne' is massive, had to be a web series: Producer Shobu Yarlagadda". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024.
- ^ Sahasrabudhe, Aishwarya (25 June 2019). "Manu S Pillai's latest book features episodes from India's history and the lives of its prolific figures". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020.
- ^ Yadav, Medha Dutta (21 November 2021). "'False Allies: India's Maharajahs' book review; In defence of the royalty". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021.
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