Shortlist announced for the Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize
The shortlisted books for the 69th have been announced. Celebrating the best in non-fiction writing, the Duff Cooper Prize was established in 1956 in memory of ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Old Member, Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, GCMG, DSO (1890–1954).
The judges, Artemis Cooper (Duff’s great granddaughter), Miles Young (Warden of ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ), and historians Susan Brigden, David Horspool, and Minoo Dinshaw, have chosen the following:
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Italy Reborn: From Fascism to Democracy
Mark Gilbert (Allen Lane)
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Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World
Kathryn Hughes (Fourth Estate)
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The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham
Lucy Hughes-Hallett (Fourth Estate)
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Forbidden Desire in Early Modern Europe: Male-Male Sexual Relations 1400–1750
Noel Malcolm (OUP)
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Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin
Sue Prideaux (Faber)
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Impossible Monsters: Dinosaurs, Darwin and the War between Science and Religion
Michael Taylor (Bodley Head)
Artemis Cooper, chair of the jury, says:
“The shortlist this year is truly exceptional. In each case the author has shown not just deep knowledge of their subject, but the audacity to be different: to make startling connections and reveal the unexpected. We are delighted to celebrate these books because they will be read for decades — each one being a benchmark in its field.â€
The winner will be announced on 3rd March 2025 and will then appear at the Oxford Literary Festival in conversation with Artemis Cooper on 4th March 2025.
²ÝÁñÊÓƵ is the home of the Duff Cooper Memorial Fund which, generously supported by , is responsible for the £5,000 Prize. Duff Cooper read History at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ between 1908 and 1911, and benefitted from its culture of tolerance, its remarkable library, and the wide learning of its tutors.
