Books by Roy Foster
Roy Foster, Emeritus Professor of Irish History at Oxford, is a well-known
cultural commentator and critic. His many prizewinning books include ModernIreland 1600-1972, Paddy and Mr Punch, The Irish Story: telling tales and making it up in Ireland, the two-volume authorised biography of W.B.Yeats, Vivid Faces: the revolutionary generation in Ireland 1890-1923 and On Seamus Heaney.
“It’s been a large presence—if not to say a dominating presence—on the Irish historiographical landscape.” Read more...
The best books on Modern Irish History
Richard Bourke, Historian
“This is a book of brilliant insight, not only into Irish history, but also into the power of narrative itself as an agent of making history.” Read more...
The best books on The Narrative of Irish History
Josephine Hart, Novelist
Interviews with Roy Foster
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1
Maria Theresa, Empress: The Making of the Austrian Enlightenment
by Richard Bassett -
2
Crick: A Mind in Motion – from DNA to the Brain
by Matthew Cobb -
3
Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found
by Andrew Graham-Dixon -
4
The Mirror of Great Britain: A Life of James VI & I
by Clare Jackson -
5
The Brothers Grimm: A Biography
by Ann Schmiesing
The Best Historical Biographies of 2026, recommended by Roy Foster
The Best Historical Biographies of 2026, recommended by Roy Foster
The best biographies combine original research with accessible writing and a strong narrative drive, explains the historian Roy Foster, chair of the judges for the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography. Here, he introduces us to the five “extraordinarily accomplished” books on their 2026 shortlist, including a reassessment of Austrian empress Maria Theresa and a portrait of the molecular biologist Francis Crick in the swinging 1960s.
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1
All His Spies: The Secret World of Robert Cecil
by Stephen Alford -
2
Augustus The Strong: A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco
by Tim Blanning -
3
The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV
by Helen Castor -
4
Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King
by Dan Jones -
5
The Rebel's Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon
by Adam Shatz
The Best Historical Biography: The 2025 Elizabeth Longford Prize, recommended by Roy Foster
The Best Historical Biography: The 2025 Elizabeth Longford Prize, recommended by Roy Foster
A good historical biography should help us redefine and rethink what makes a person historically significant, says Roy Foster, chair of the judging panel of the Elizabeth Longford Prize. He talks us through the brilliant books that made the 2025 shortlist, including the lives of various monarchs who left their mark on European history, a portrait of an early modern spymaster, and a biography of Frantz Fanon, the anti-colonial writer.
Interviews where books by Roy Foster were recommended
The best books on The Narrative of Irish History, recommended by Josephine Hart
The bestselling Irish novelist and author of Damage selects five books to help us understand the narrative of Irish history. She argues that “the permanent narrative of victimhood is not quite accurate”
The best books on Modern Irish History, recommended by Richard Bourke
A “powerful and aggravating absence of consensus” came to define the Irish political experience, says the historian Richard Bourke. Here he picks the best books for gaining a range of perspectives on Irish history, singling out James Joyce as offering insight into the divergence of nationalist opinion.
