Toby (A. H.) Wilkinson was born in 1969. He graduated from Downing College, University of Cambridge. with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was awarded the Thomas Mulvey Egyptology Prize. He completed his Ph. D at Christ's College, Cambridge in 1993. In 2011, Wilkinson won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize, awarded to the best work of non-fiction of historical content, for his book The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra. This book was also on the New York Times bestseller list in 2014. His other works include: Genesis of the Pharaohs: Dramatic New Discoveries That Rewrite the Origins of Ancient Egypt (2003); The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of… Ancient Egypt (2nd edition, 2008); and Lives of the Ancient Egyptians: Pharaohs, Queens, Courtiers and Commoners (2007).