Prof Beaton shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize

Professor Roderick Beaton has been shortlisted for the 2013 Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize for his book, ‘Byron’s War’.

The prize has been awarded annually since 1956 for the best work of non-fiction in the fields of history, biography, political science or poetry. Winners receive a first edition of Duff Cooper’s Old Men Forget, and £5,000. Previous recipients include John Betjeman, Patrick Leigh Fermor and Seamus Heaney.

In the book, Professor Beaton explores the life of Byron in the context of his relationship with Greece, drawing on and re-interpreting some of his most well known works. ‘Byron’s War’, published by Cambridge University Press, traces the Romantic poet’s transformation from mere hellenophile to dedicated advocate for Greek independence through the analysis of historical documents, and Byron’s own writing.

Professor Beaton is Koraes Professor of Modern Greek & Byzantine History, Language and Literature in the Centre for Hellenic Studies.