Alex von Tunzelmann

Alex von Tunzelmann (born 1977) is a British historian and author.

Early life and ancestry

Tunzelmann has stated her surname is of German ancestry originating in Saxony in Germany and has family connections from Estonia since 1600 and New Zealand since 1850.^[1]

Education

Tunzelmann was educated at Brighton and Hove High School,^[2] an independent school for girls in Brighton, and at University College at the University of Oxford. She read history and edited both Cherwell and Isis.

Books and writings

Tunzelmann has contributed to The Political Animal by Jeremy Paxman, The Truth About Markets by John Kay, Does Education Matter? by Alison Wolf, and Not on the Label by Felicity Lawrence. She has been recognized as a Financial Times Young Business Writer of the Year. Most recently she has collaborated with Jeremy Paxman on his book, On Royalty.

Recently, Tunzelmann has begun writing a weekly column for The Guardian entitled "Reel history", in which she discusses and rates popular films for their historical accuracy. She has also written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph, Conde Nast Traveller, BBC Lonely Planet Magazine, and The Daily Beast.^[3] She is currently working on a book about the Suez Crisis of 1956. A film based on her book Indian Summer is currently in development with Working Title Films.

Tunzelmann wrote the script for the movie Churchill, a film which has been panned for its many gross historical inaccuracies.^[4]

• Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire, 2007, her first book, details the independence of India from the British Empire.
• Red Heat. Conspiracy, Murder, and the Cold War in the Caribbean, 2011, covers the relationship of the United States with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti during the time of the Cold War. Her overall framework is based on the idea that the Cold War was not a static phenomenon but instead dynamic and involved 'hot wars' as well.^[5]

She has appeared on the literary discussion radio programme Litbits on Resonance FM, discussing literature and hair.

Personal life

Tunzelmann has worked primarily as a researcher and lives in London.

References

• "Alex von Tunzelmann's personal website".
• "Short biography from McClelland".
• "Guardian newspaper's Film features". The Guardian. London. 2008-07-21. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
• Corrigan, Maureen (2007-08-02). "In an Empire's End, Seeds of Freedom and Conflict". Fresh Air from WHYY. NPR.

External links

• Alex von Tunzelmann at Twitter
• Alex von Tunzelmann on IMDb