My secret to success is doing what I love, says multi-award-winning author

'Doing what I love keeps me motivated,' says Dalrymple.

Ask British historian and multi-award-winning author William Dalrymple about the secret to his success and you’ll get the simple answer of “doing what I love”.

Passion has helped the 59-year-old Scotsman who lives in India, accomplish so much that it seems like he could achieve anything.

Yet he modestly says: “It doesn’t feel like that. Each project has taken many years.”

Dalrymple is no stranger to accolades. His books, which have become bestsellers, have won prestigious literary prizes, including the Wolfson Prize for History, Duff Cooper Memorial Prize, Hemingway, Kapuscinski, Arthur Ross Medal of the United States Council on Foreign Relations, Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, and Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award.

In addition, Dalrymple was awarded the President’s Medal of the British Academy in 2018 for his “outstanding service to the cause of humanities and social sciences” and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2023 for “services to literature and the arts”.

Dalrymple is also a prolific writer for publications such as The Guardian, The New Yorker, and Time magazine. He is also co-founder of the Jaipur Literary Festival, which he says might soon make its way to Malaysia.

Alongside his literary endeavours, he has also been active as a broadcaster, art historian and photographer.

“When you do what you love, then work is your pleasure,” he says with enthusiasm.

“If you get up early every morning to do something you hate, then life would be a chore. But if you’re doing what you love and you get paid for it – while I can’t claim that’s the secret of success – it’s definitely the secret to a happy life.”

Dalrymple finds joy in visiting ancient monuments, reading history, writing about it and photographing his discoveries. “That’s what keeps me motivated – doing what I love,” he says with a smile.

‘Always painful’

Dalrymple is one of Britain’s great historians and the bestselling author of several books.

It might be a surprise then, when Dalrymple adds that he “hates” writing.

“I love it when the book is finished, or even halfway done. But starting a book is always painful – it’s the toughest part,” he admits.

He likens the early stages of writing to training for a marathon. “When you first start, you’re unfit, unfocused and undisciplined. But six months in, you’re like an Olympic athlete in peak form. You can get up at 8am, write until 4pm and produce 2,000 words a day.”

He further compares the process to cycling uphill. “The beginning is excruciating, but once you reach the top, it’s all downhill – and that’s the fun part.”

Despite these challenges, Dalrymple has proven that he is a prolific writer. “I’ve written many books, but just ten major ones. And each time, the process doesn’t get easier,” he says.

Dalrymple was in Kuala Lumpur recently to promote his latest book, The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed The World. It was his first visit to Malaysia, but he assures it won’t be his last.

“It’s wonderful to discover a new country with amazing food and warm people. I hope to come back soon,” he says.

His daily routine depends on whether he’s in the research, writing or promotional phase of his work.

Research, he says, is the part he enjoys the most. “I love travelling to places like Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Borobudur in Indonesia, or the Bujang Valley in Malaysia. It’s pure pleasure.”

Dalrymple recently ventured into the world of podcasting, which he describes as a new and exciting challenge.

His podcast, Empire, has gained a massive following, with 880,000 weekly listeners and growing. “If you write a book, you’d be lucky if 100,000 people read it in five years. But with a podcast, it’s so accessible – people can listen while commuting or doing housework,” he explains.

Cohesive narrative

Dalrymple was in Kuala Lumpur to market his latest book The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World.

His latest book differs significantly from his previous works, which focused on colonial India. The Golden Road delves into ancient India and its influence on the world.

“For the last 20 years, I’ve been writing about colonialism. The Company Quartet – White Mughals (2002), The Last Mughal (2006), Return Of A King (2012), and The Anarchy (2019) – examined how the East India Company replaced the Mughal Empire, then one of the wealthiest entities in the world.”

In contrast, The Golden Road focuses on ancient India’s contributions to global civilisation. Divided into three sections, it explores the spread of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Indian advancements in mathematics, astrology and astronomy.

“Not many people realise that the numeric system we use today, often called Arabic numbers, actually originated in India during the 6th or 7th century. The numbers zero to nine are an Indian invention and arguably the closest thing the world has to a universal language.”

Dalrymple points out that India’s contributions are often fragmented into separate disciplines – Buddhism tied to the Silk Road, Hinduism to the Sanskrit tradition, and Indian mathematics confined to academic circles.

The Golden Road aims to bring these threads together into a cohesive narrative.

'The numbers zero to nine are an Indian invention and arguably the closest thing the world has to a universal language,' says Dalrymple.

Dalrymple’s deep connection to India runs in parallel with his fascinating heritage. He is the great-nephew of writer Virginia Woolf and a third cousin of Queen Camilla.

When not travelling, he resides on a farm on the outskirts of New Delhi with his wife, artist Olivia Fraser, and their three children.

The farm is largely self-sufficient. “We grow our own vegetables, produce honey and rear goats for cheese, milk and meat. During the Covid-19 lockdown, this was useful as it was hard to get to markets.”

While history and writing remain his first loves, Dalrymple’s career began with travel writing.

“In my 20s, I retraced Marco Polo’s route to Kublai Khan’s palace, and travelled extensively through the Middle East. My travel books were full of history, and now my history books are full of travel and a sense of place.”

When asked which is his favourite book, Dalrymple finds it impossible to choose.

“It’s like picking a favourite child. But usually, the latest book occupies my mind the most.”

He is especially proud of The Last Mughal and From The Holy Mountain due to their reception.

As for what’s next, Dalrymple is focused on promoting The Golden Road.

“For six months to a year, I’ll be travelling the world – from Britain to India, Bali, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and now Kuala Lumpur. In April, I’ll head to the US.”

In the future, he hopes to write about the Opium War. “It’s a dark and fascinating period of history, one that has been told but deserves to be further expounded,” he concludes.