We were saddened to hear of the death, on 22 February 2023, of biographer and historian Philip Ziegler.

Philip published over 20 biographies during his career, including volumes on Lord Mountbatten, Edward VIII, Cecil Rhodes and Edward Heath (for which he won the 2011 Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography), as well as histories of the Black Death and wartime London.

He was a member and strong supporter of the Society of Authors for over 50 years, serving on the Management Committee from 1987 and as Chair from 1988 to 1990. He was respected by SoA members and staff alike for his urbane, self-effacing and immensely wise approach to the role.

Philip went on to chair the PLR Advisory Committee from 1994 to 1997, and was appointed a lifetime SoA Fellow (formerly Council member).

A ‘society’ of authors is almost a contradiction in terms – authors are solitary beasts. They have common interests however, and face common threats: it is in promoting the first and combating the second that the Society of Authors is triumphantly successful.

Philip Ziegler, writing in 2017 to welcome the SoA’s 10,000th member