Books by Nicholas Boggs

“’Tis strange—but true; for truth is always strange; stranger than fiction,” wrote Lord Byron. For more than a quarter of a century, the Baillie Gifford Prize has celebrated the best nonfiction book of the year. Broadcaster Kirsty Lang, chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the six books shortlisted for the 2026 prize, from Alexander the Great to Barbara Cartland.

From in-depth accounts of the lives of literary giants to the ups and downs of an American frozen food dynasty, some notable biographies of 2025 have been turned into outstanding audiobooks. AudioFile magazine’s best audiobooks of the year also include heartfelt, bestselling memoirs—narrated by the authors themselves.

Among the new biographies coming out in 2025, the lives of literary figures have been particularly prominent, including new books about Robert Louis Stevenson, the Scottish adventure writer, and Shakespeare’s rival Christopher Marlowe, who was stabbed to death aged 29. Also popular are reconstructions of lives from the distant past that we know little about, including the first King of England and Fulvia, the first wife of Mark Antony.