Handing over a copy of Thomia to the new Warden last Monday ‘ The Warden of St Thomas’s stands in loco parentis  to a ‘family’ of a small army of boys and youths, among whom are to be found young males of every conceivable psychological type; all the while, he is answerable for their welfare to their real parents, who count among their number some of the most distinguished and powerful men and women in the country. It is an exhausting, debilitating, almost impossible job.’ –

Thomia at home in Rev. Billimoria’s study The historian A. J. P. Taylor believed that history ‘is fun to write and, I hope, fun to read.’ He also asserted that ‘the original task of the historian is to answer the child’s question: “What happened next?”’ So for him, the task of the historian was to be a good storyteller. Richard Simon has certainly accomplished this task in his recently published magnum opus , which is titled Thomia: the entangled histories of modern Lanka &

Priyan Dias, Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, presents a detailed assessement of Thomia  from an Old Boy’s point of view (orig. pub. in the Island , 15viii25) (To read Part I of this review, click here ) A national history as well as a history of the school As stated before, the chapters describing the life of the school are interspersed with those describing its national context. The most pertinent aspect of that context is the country’s

Priyan Dias, Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, presents a detailed assessement of Thomia from an Old Boy’s point of view (orig. pub. in the Island , 14viii25) Richard Simon’s monumental two-volume history of S. Thomas’ College runs into 869 quarto-sized pages, inclusive of endnotes but excluding front matter and indices of subjects and persons. The book is extremely well written in a very erudite but engaging style, and is unique in that

Delighted readers and expert reviewers alike agree: Richard Simon’s Thomia is the most comprehensive, reliable and enjoyable history of St Thomas’s College and modern Lanka. For discerning book lovers and readers of history, it makes for the ideal seasonal gift – as well as a delightful personal indulgence! What they’re saying ‘Magnificent... a rich read packed with the ethos of a school built on values and tradition and several eras of modern Lankan history’ – Yomal Senara

Thomia on display at the Barefoot Bookshop, Kollupitiya I’m happy to announce that Thomia is now available at the following bookshops:...

Better late than never: photos from the launch of Thomia

In early March, around the time Thomia was launched, ESL got back in touch with a request for an in-depth interview about my motivation for writing the book, how I set about research, and so on. So Jennifer and I met again, over iced coffee and pastries at the Dutch Burgher Union...

Send me a photo of yourself, or someone you like, with your copy of Thomia...

I won’t pretend I’m anything but delighted about all this...

...we have to do them in batches for reasons of practical logistics: there’s just Lionel the Cat Herder and me to carry these 3.3kg bricks..

This is where the rubber hits the road; Thomia is out in the wild at last.

Tuesday 4 March 2025 sees the official launch of Thomia at the Barefoot Garden Cafe

On the Launch Pad

Thomia: the first finished copy

The pages – that is, the book itself – have all been printed and are now halfway through the binding stage...

I’m just back from the press, where Chanishka and I were invited this morning to view the proofs of the new dust-jackets before...

Yesterday, I sat down once again with the printer and Chanishka our book designer to discuss changes and improvements based on the...

‘Gosh, it’s real!’ That was my lovely wife’s reaction when she saw the first digital proof of Thomia , which arrived from the printer...

I was hoping to post this in time to wish you all Merry Christmas, but for various reasons it’s proved impossible to get it out until...