Jonathan Conlin

I was born in New York and later moved to Britain, where I studied history at Oxford, the Courtauld and Cambridge University. In November 2026 I will publish a new biography of the eighteenth-century trans diplomat, soldier and spy the Chevalière d'Eon. For a peek at some of the things I have found, visit my Instagram: DeonTraces.

Previous books include a history of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In it I tell the stories of the people who have shaped the museum—from curators and artists to museumgoers and security guards—and the communities that have made the Met their own. Before that I published the National Gallery's authorized bicentenary history. My current project is a cultural history of Heathrow Airport, that will look at what the history of airport lounges, detention centres, noise campaigners, airport catering factories and planespotters can tell us about modern Britain.