V.G. Kiernan is, as Edward Said observed, 'that great Scottish historian of empire'. A prolific writer, he has published work in areas ranging from Indian history to Marxist politics to Shakespeare. He lives in Edinburgh.

A Fellow of the British Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Eric Hobsbawm is the author of more than twenty books of history, including The Age of Revolution and The Age of Extremes. He lives in London.