Christopher Hibbert was educated at Radley and Oxford. He served as an infantry officer during the war, was twice wounded and was awarded the Military Cross in 1945. Described by Professor J.H. Plumb as a writer of the highest ability, he is, in the words of The Times Educational Supplement 'perhaps the most gifted popular historian we have'. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Hon. D. Litt of Leicester University.