Sashenka (Montefiore) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth—June 27, 1965
• Where—London, England, UK
• Education—Cambridge University
• Awards—British Book Award, Costa Book
   Award, Bruno Kreisky Award, Prix de la
   Biographie Politque (all for Young Stalin).
• Currently—lives in London, England


Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore is a British historian and writer.

Biography
Montefiore's father, a doctor, is descended from a famous line of wealthy Sephardic Jews who became diplomats and bankers all over Europe. At the start of the 19th century, by playing the markets based on intelligence about the Battle of Waterloo, Simon's great-great uncle, Sir Moses Montefiore, became a banking partner of N M Rothschild & Sons. By contrast, Simon’s mother, April, a novelist, comes from a Lithuanian Jewish family of poor scholars. Her parents fled the Russian Empire at the turn of the 20th century. They bought tickets for New York City but were cheated and dropped off at Cork, Ireland. During the Limerick boycott of 1904 they left Ireland, despite offers of hospitality in Irish homes, and moved to Newcastle, England.

Simon was educated at Ludgrove School, Harrow, and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he read history. He went on to work as a banker and foreign affairs journalist.

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he lives in London with his wife, the novelist Santa Montefiore, and their two children.

Writings
Montefiore’s books are world bestsellers, published in 33 languages. His first history book, Catherine the Great & Potemkin, was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson, Duff Cooper, and Marsh Biography Prizes. Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar won History Book of the Year at the 2004 British Book Awards. Young Stalin won the LA Times Book Prize for Best Biography, the Costa Book Award, the Bruno Kreisky Award for Political Literature,  the Prix de la Biographie Politique and was shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

Miramax Films and Ruby Films have bought the rights and are currently developing a movie of Young Stalin.

He also wrote a novel, Sashenka (2008), and his latest history book is Jerusalem: the Biography, a fresh history of the Middle East. (From Wikipedia.)