Duff Cooper’s bookplate,
designed by Rex Whistler

The Duff Cooper Prize

Since 2005 we have been generously supported by

which donates the Champagne for the award presentation,
and contributes £1000 towards the £5,000 prize.

History

Duff Cooper, statesman, diplomat and author, was born in 1890. He won the DSO as a second lieutenant in the First World War, and entered Parliament in 1923. His life was devoted to politics until 1938 when, as First Lord of the Admiralty, he resigned in protest at the Munich Agreement. Called back to office by Churchill in 1940, his wartime career culminated in his appointment as Ambassador to France. Shortly before his death he was made 1st Viscount Norwich. Among his best-known books are Talleryrand, Operation Heartbreak and his autobiography, Old Men Forget.

After Duff Cooper's death in 1954, a group of his friends decided to form a Trust to endow a literary prize in his memory. Two of the five judges appointed by the Trust are ex-officio: the Warden of New College, Oxford, and a member of Duff Cooper's family - originally Duff Cooper's son, John Julius Norwich. He ran the prize for its first thirty-six years, and then passed it on his daughter, Artemis Cooper. The other three judges serve for five years and appoint their own successors. The first three were Maurice Bowra, Cyril Connolly and Raymond Mortimer. Those serving at present are Professor Martin Ceadel, representing the Warden of New College; Ariane Bankes, writer and editor; the lawyer Dr Frank Callanan; and the biograpaher Lucy Hughes-Hallett.

Duff Cooper's wedding to Lady Diana Manners, 1919