David Thomas Anthony Kynaston (; born 30 July 1951 in Aldershot, England) is an English historian specialising in the social history of England. He has written more than 30 books, including the first four books in his series Tales of a New Jerusalem, in which he chronicles the history of Great Britain from the end of World War II in 1945 to the ascension of Margaret Thatcher in 1979. The first book in the series–Austerity Britain–was named "Book of the Decade" in 2009 by The Sunday Times.
Education and academic career 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. He was awarded a PhD from the London School of Economics for his 1983 thesis on the history of the London Stock Exchange. Random House's page about City of London 1 specifies Wellington College, New College Oxford, and the LSE, although it does not give years or degrees. Kynaston became a visiting professor at Kingston University in 2001, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2010.
Tales of a New Jerusalem In 2007, Kynaston published Austerity Britain, 1945–1951, to much acclaim. The book consists of two volumes–A World To Build and Smoke In the Valley–that together constitute the first in a projected series of six books entitled Tales of a New Jerusalem, chronicling the history of Great Britain from the end of World War II in 1945 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 book in the series, covering the period from 1951 to the Suez Crisis of 1956, and was released as a single volume containing two parts–The Certainties Of Place and A Thicker Cut. It was Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4 for the week of 23 November 2009, read by Dominic West.
The third book in the series, Modernity Britain, covering the years 1957–62, was published as two volumes–Opening The Box in June 2013 and A Shake Of The Dice in 2014.
The first volume of the fourth book, A Northern Wind, covering the years 1962–65, was published on 28 September 2023. The second volume, Deep into the Sixties, covering 1965–66, was published on 24 September 2026.
Publications As of October 2026, Kynaston has authored over 30 books either alone or jointly with other authors. King Labour: British Working Class, 1850–1914, 1976, Shots In The Dark: A Diary of Saturday Dreams and Strange Times, 1978, The Secretary of State, 1978, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1980, Bobby Abel: Professional Batsman, 1857–1936, 1982, Archie's Last Stand: M.C.C. in New Zealand 1922–23: Being an Account of Mr. A. C. MacLaren's tour and His Last Stand, 1984, The Financial Times: a centenary history, 1988, WG's Birthday Party, 1990, Cazenove & Co.: a history, 1991, The City of London, Volume I: A World of Its Own, 1815–90, 1995, The City of London, Volume II: Golden Years, 1890–1914, 1995, LIFFE: A Market and its Makers, 1997, The City of London, Volume III: Illusions of Gold, 1914–45, 1999, Phillips and Drew: Professionals in the City (with William Joseph Reader), 2001, City State: A Contemporary History of the City and How Money Triumphed (with Richard Roberts), 2001, The City of London, Volume IV: Club No More (with Will Sulkin), 1945–2000, 2002, The Bank of England: Money, Power, and Influence 1694–1994, 2002 (editor, with Richard Roberts, City of London, 1815-2000, 2004, Austerity Britain, 1945–51, 2007, , reprinted as: Austerity Britain: A World to Build, 1945–48, 2008, Austerity Britain: Smoke in the Valley, 1948–51, 2008, Family Britain, 1951–57, 2009, City of London: The History, 2012, Modernity Britain, 1957–62, 2012, , reprinted as: Modernity Britain: Opening the Box, 1957–59, 2013, Mark Damazer, "Modernity Britain by David Kynaston: Social history with a smile" (review), New Statesman, 27 June 2013. Modernity Britain: A Shake of the Dice, 1959–62, 2014, The Lion Wakes: A Modern History of HSBC (with Richard Roberts), 2015, 978-1847658975 Till Time's Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England 1694–2013, 2017, Arlott, Swanton and the Soul of English Cricket (with Stephen Fay), 2018, Engines of Privilege: Britain's private school problem (with Francis Greenwood), 2019, London's Square Mile: A Secret City (with Polly Braden), 2019, On the Cusp: Days of '62, 2021, Banker and Philanthropist: A Portrait of Anthony de Rothschild, 2022, A Northern Wind: Britain 1962–65, 2023, Richie Benaud's Blue Suede Shoes: The Story of an Ashes Classic (with Harry Ricketts), 2024, Deep into the Sixties: Britain 1965–66, 2026,
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