Manu S. Pillai


Manu S. Pillai is an Indian writer and popular historian. He is known for his works covering the history of India from late medieval through colonial times, with his debut book, The Ivory Throne, winning the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar.

Early life and education

Manu S. Pillai was born in Mavelikkara, Kerala in 1990, and grew up in Pune. He received a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Fergusson College and a Master's Degree in International Relations from King's College London. He holds a PhD in history from King's College London.

Career

Following his education, he worked with the Parliamentary office of Shashi Tharoor in New Delhi and Lord Karan Bilimoria in London. He also worked as a researcher on the BBC Radio 4 series, Incarnations with Sunil Khilnani, which tells the story of India through fifty great lives. In 2017, he became a full time author.
Pillai's debut book The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore, about Rani Sethu Lakshmi Bhay's reign as the regent of Travancore, earned him the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2017. the story was expected to be adapted into a web series by Arka Mediaworks.
Rebel Sultans, Pillai's second work, narrates the story of the late medieval Deccan over four centuries. The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin is a collection released in 2019 consisting of historical anecdotes originally published as columns in various Indian newspapers.
Pillai's 2021 book False Allies concerns the rulers of princely states during the British Raj, focusing on five states whose rulers patronized and were painted by Raja Ravi Varma. In Gods, Guns and Missionaries, first released in India in 2024, Pillai outlines the history of Hinduism during India's colonization by Christian European states.

List of works