Rory Stewart

Rory Stewart is a British author, politician, and diplomat whose remarkable life — as a soldier, an explorer, a governor in post-invasion Iraq, and a Member of Parliament — has provided the material for some of the most compelling non-fiction of the twenty-first century. Born in Hong Kong in 1973, Stewart was raised between Britain and Malaysia. He was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) and later History. He joined the Foreign Office and served as a diplomat in Indonesia, Montenegro, and other postings before embarking on the adventure that would define his first book. The Places in Between, published in 2004, is an account of Stewart's solo walk across Afghanistan in January 2002, just weeks after the fall of the Taliban. Travelling on foot through remote mountain villages in the dead of winter, accompanied for parts of the journey by an adopted mastiff, Stewart produced a book that is at once a travel narrative, a meditation on Afghan culture, and a quiet rebuke to the hubris of Western intervention. It was a bestseller and established Stewart as one of the most interesting writer-adventurers of his generation. Occupational Hazards (published in the US as The Prince of the Marshes) followed, drawing on his time as the deputy governor of two provinces in southern Iraq. The book is a frank, sometimes darkly funny account of the impossible task of post-invasion governance. Stewart entered politics in 2010, serving as the Conservative MP for Penrith and The Border and later as a government minister. He ran for the Conservative Party leadership in 2019, gaining attention for his candid, thoughtful approach in a field of candidates. He left politics shortly thereafter. His most recent book, Middleland, continues his exploration of landscape, identity, and Britain's place in the world. Stewart also co-hosts the hugely popular podcast The Rest Is Politics with Alastair Campbell, which has become one of the most listened-to political podcasts in the UK. The audiobook editions of Stewart's books are compelling, with his articulate, measured voice perfectly suited to his reflective, observational prose. The audiobooks bring his extraordinary experiences to vivid life. Rory Stewart is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His books and audiobooks are essential for anyone who values writing that combines intellectual depth with lived adventure and a genuine curiosity about the world.