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, said: ‘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.’

Tim Bouverie, a former Channel4 News political journalist, was the 2020-21 Alistair Horne Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford. His first book was the Sunday Times bestseller Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain Churchill and the Road to War, shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. For Allies At War, he drew on material from over a hundred archives, including vivid first-hand accounts and unpublished diaries, to reveal the political drama behind the military events.

Tim Bouverie said: ‘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.’