Elizabeth Longford Prize
The Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography was established in 2003 in memory of Elizabeth Longford (1906-2002), the British author, biographer and historian. The £5,000 prize is awarded annually for a historical biography published in the preceding year.
The Elizabeth Longford Prize is sponsored by Flora Fraser and Peter Soros and administered by the Society of Authors.
Winners
2020s
2025
- Winner: Augustus the Strong: Tim Blanning for A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco (Allen Lane)[1]
Shortlist:
- Stephen Alford for All His Spies: The Secret World of Robert Cecil (Allen Lane)
- Helen Castor for The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV (Allen Lane)
- Dan Jones for Henry V: The Astonishing Rise of England’s Greatest Warrior King (Apollo)
- Adam Shatz for The Rebel’s Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon (Apollo)
2024
- Winner: Jackie Wullschläger for Monet: The Restless Vision (Allen Lane)
Shortlist:
- Deborah E. Lipstadt for Golda Meir: Israel’s Matriarch (Yale Press)
- Kal Raustiala The Absolutely Indispensable Man: Ralph Bunche, the United Nations, and the Fight to End Empire (Oxford University Press)
- M.W. Rowe for J.L. Austin:Philosopher and D-Day Intelligence Officer (Oxford University Press)
- Jackie Uí Chionna for Queen of Codes: The Secret Life of Emily Anderson, Britain’s Greatest Female Code Breaker (Headline)
2023
- Winner: Ramachandra Guha for Rebels Against the Raj: Western Fighters for India’s Freedom (William Collins)[2]
Shortlist:[3]
- Leanda de Lisle for Henrietta Maria: Conspirator, Warrior, Phoenix Queen (Chatto & Windus) Vintage Books
- Michael Broers for Napoleon: The Decline and Fall of an Empire 1811-1821 (Pegasus Books)
- Ruth Harris for Guru to the World: The Life and Legacy of Vivekananda (Harvard University Press)
- Daisy Hay for Dinner With Joseph Johnson: Books and Friendship in a Revolutionary Age (Vintage Books)
2022
- Winner: Andrew Roberts for George III: The Life and Reign of Britain’s Most Misunderstood Monarch (Allen Lane)[4]
Shortlist:
- Timothy Brennan for Places of Mind, A Life of Edward Said (Bloomsbury)
- Helen Carr for The Red Prince: The Life of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster (Oneworld Publications)
- Jonathan Petropoulos for Göring's Man in Paris: The Story of A Nazi Art Plunderer and His World (Yale University Press)
- Jane Ridley for George V: Never a Dull Moment (Chatto & Windus)
2021
- Winner: Fredrik Logevall for JFK: Vol 1 (Penguin Books)[5]
Shortlist:
- Sudhir Hazareesingh for Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture (Allen King)
- Sarah LeFanu for Something of Themselves: Kipling, Kingsley, Conan Doyle and the Anglo-Boer War (Hurst)
- Samanth Subramanian for A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of J.B.S Haldane (Atlantic)
2020
- Winner: D W. Hayton for Conservative Revolutionary: The Lives of Lewis Namier[6]
Shortlist:
- Andrew S. Curran for Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely
- Richard J. Evans for Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History
- Oliver Soden for Michael Tippett: The Biography
- A. N. Wilson for Prince Albert: The Man Who Saved the Monarchy
2010s
2019
- Winner: Julian Jackson for A Certain Idea of France: The Life of Charles de Gaulle[7]
Shortlist:
- Diarmaid MacCulloch for Thomas Cromwell: A Life
- Andrew Roberts for Churchill: Walking with Destiny
- Jeffrey C. Stewart for The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke
2018
- Giles Tremlett for Isabella of Castile: Europe's First Great Queen[8]
2017
- John Bew for Citizen Clem: A Biography of Attlee
2016
- Andrew Gailey for The Lost Imperialist: Lord Dufferin, Memory and Mythmaking in an Age of Celebrity
2015
- Ben Macintyre for A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
2014
- Charles Moore for Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography. Volume 1
2013
- Anne Somerset for Queen Anne: The Politics of Passion
2012
- Frances Wilson for How to Survive the Titanic or The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay[9]
2011
- Philip Ziegler for Edward Heath (bio of Edward Heath)[10]
2010
- Tristram Hunt for The Frock-Coated Communist - The Revolutionary Life of Friedrich Engels
2000s
2009
- Mark Bostridge for Florence Nightingale. The Woman and Her Legend
2008
- Rosemary Hill for God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain[11]
2007
- Jessie Childs for Henry VIII's Last Victim: The Life and Times of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey[12]
2006
- Charles Williams for Petain: How the Hero of France Became a Convicted Traitor and Changed the Course of History
2005
- Ian Kershaw for Making Friends with Hitler: Lord Londonderry, the Nazis, and the Road to War
2004
- Katie Whitaker for Mad Madge: Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, Royalist, Writer and Romantic
2003
References
- ^ "Augustus the Strong: A Study of Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco". ELHB. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
- ^ "Ramachandra Guha wins Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography 2023". RCW Literary Agency. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
- ^ "2023 Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography Shortlist". ELHB.
- ^ "2022 Winner - Andrew Roberts". Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ "2021 Prizewinner". 10 June 2021.
- ^ "2020 Prizewinner" (PDF).
- ^ "2019 Prizewinner" (PDF).
- ^ "News & Archive". Retrieved 2021-10-16.
- ^ Frances Wilson Wins Elizabeth Longford Prize. (2012). Bookseller, 5526, 13.
- ^ PRIZES. (2011). Bookseller, 5484, 9.
- ^ "Burnside, Thirlwell and Riley among Society of Authors winners", The Guardian, 19 June 2008.
- ^ Thomson, I. (2014). 'God's traitors: Terror and faith in elizabethan england', by jessie childs. FT.Com. Retrieved 2021-10-16.