David Thomas Anthony Kynaston (born 30 July 1951 in Aldershot) is an English historian specialising in the social history of England.

Early life and education

Kynaston was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire and New College, Oxford, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in modern history in 1973, and was awarded a PhD from the London School of Economics on the history of the London Stock Exchange in 1983.

Career and research

Kynaston became a visiting professor at Kingston University in 2001.

Tales of a New Jerusalem

In 2007 Kynaston published Austerity Britain, 1945–1951 to much acclaim. The title consists of two books that together make the first volume in a projected series of six entitled Tales of a New Jerusalem. In this series Kynaston intends to chronicle the history of Great Britain from the end of World War II to the ascension of Margaret Thatcher in 1979. Austerity Britain was named "Book of the Decade" by The Sunday Times. Family Britain (2010) is the second volume in the series, and was also released as two books. It covers the period from 1951 to the Suez crisis of 1956. The volume was serialised on BBC Radio 4 as its Book of the Week for 23 November 2009, read by Dominic West. The third volume, Modernity Britain, covering the years 1957–62, was published as two books in June 2013 and 2014. The first book of the fourth volume, A Northern Wind, covering the years 1962–65, was published in September 2023.

Publications