Tristram Hunt

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Tristram Hunt (born 1974), is a British historian, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He also lectures at Queen Mary, University of London.

Hunt has made many appearances on television. He first came to prominence when he presented a four-part series on the English Civil War in 2002, but caused raised eyebrows with an essay in the New Statesman entitled: "Britain's Very Own Taliban", comparing Cromwell's Republic to the Islamic fundamentalism dominant in Afghanistan at that time. Hunt's debut book on the Civil War was also well-received. Hunt presented a programme advocating the theories of Isaac Newton in the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons poll. Although, as an essentially economic and social historian, the choice of Hunt was perhaps not wise. He also presented a one-hour documentary on the rise of the middle class for Channel 4 last year. He makes regular appearances on BBC Radio 4, having presented broadcasts on such topics as the history of the signature. Furthering his public prominence even more, Hunt, an active New Labour supporter and Trustee of the Heritage Lottery Fund, has a column with UK Sunday paper, The Observer. An article on then-Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, attracted considerably controversy in late 2005. A Cambridge graduate, Hunt interned at the think tank Demos, was a fellow of the Institute for Public Policy Research and is on the board of the New Local Government Network (2004).

Hunt's main area of expertise is urban history, specifically during the Victorian era, and it is this subject which provided him with his second book, Building Jerusalem. This book, covering such notable Victorian minds as John Ruskin, Joseph Chamberlain and Thomas Carlyle received many favourable reviews, but some criticism, notably a scathing review in the Times Literary Supplement by J. Mordaunt Crook ('The Future was Bromley', TLS, 13 August 2004). His next literary undertaking is a biography of Karl Marx's friend and literary collaborator Friedrich Engels. He is also said to be working on a BBC series which be will examining the influence of Protestantism on British attitudes to work and leisure.