Tim Bouverie wins 2026 Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize
Tim Bouverie wins 2026 Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize for Allies At War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler
The Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize, set up in memory of the statesman and author Alfred Duff Cooper, celebrates the best non-fiction published in the United Kingdom.
Allies at War is a fast-paced narrative which captures the tensions, the arguments, the lies and the squabbles that underlay the network of alliances against Hitler.
Artemis Cooper, chair of judges, says: ‘Allies at War is a vast and far-ranging story, told with an energy and a clarity of thought that establishes Tim Bouverie as one of our most brilliant young historians.’ Fellow judge (and former Sunday Times Literary Editor) Andrew Holgate added: ‘What makes the book so special are the contemporary resonances that ring out on every page. We watch Churchill as he manoeuvres his way through the conflict, trying to inveigle the Americans into the war, then trying to control Roosevelt and Stalin, and we cannot help but project forward to today. There are so many echoes with what’s going on now, and it has such contemporary relevance. It’s an absolutely gripping read.’
“‘I am utterly delighted to have won the Duff Cooper Prize. To be included in the list of names of some the historians and writers I have most admired, including Patrick Leigh-Fermor, Margaret MacMillan, Julian Jackson and Michael Howard, is a deep honour.”
Tim Bouverie is a historian and journalist. His first book, Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War, was a Sunday Times bestseller and was shortlisted for the prestigious Orwell Prize. His latest book is Allies at War: How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World. In addition, he is the author of Perfect Pitch: 100 Pieces of Classical Music to Bring Joy, Tears, Solace, Empathy, Inspiration (& Everything in Between). He was the 2020-21 Alistair Horne Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford. Bouverie appeared at the 2026 Festival.
