Hugh Trevor-Roper
The Biography
Published on 2. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
624 pages
978-1-3996-3809-8 (ISBN)
Description
FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRE
'A fine and serious biography which, on page after page, has made me laugh out loud' Sunday Telegraph
'It is a long time since I have enjoyed a book as much as this one' Robert Harris, Sunday Times
'It is impossible to praise Sisman's biography too highly' A.N. Wilson, Observer
Clever, witty and cruel, Hugh Trevor-Roper was one of the most gifted scholars of his generation. As a young intelligence officer, he broke one of the German codes while taking a bath during an air raid. After the war, his solo investigation into the death of Hitler made him famous in his early thirties and rich enough to buy a Bentley. Ten years later he was appointed the most senior history professor at Oxford. He married into the aristocracy and was acknowledged as one of the most brilliant intellectuals of his time. But he failed to write the 'big book' expected of him and tainted his reputation when in old age he erroneously authenticated the forged 'Hitler Diaries'. The tragicomedy of his tenure as Master of Peterhouse forms a fitting finale to the story of a full and varied life.
'A fine and serious biography which, on page after page, has made me laugh out loud' Sunday Telegraph
'It is a long time since I have enjoyed a book as much as this one' Robert Harris, Sunday Times
'It is impossible to praise Sisman's biography too highly' A.N. Wilson, Observer
Clever, witty and cruel, Hugh Trevor-Roper was one of the most gifted scholars of his generation. As a young intelligence officer, he broke one of the German codes while taking a bath during an air raid. After the war, his solo investigation into the death of Hitler made him famous in his early thirties and rich enough to buy a Bentley. Ten years later he was appointed the most senior history professor at Oxford. He married into the aristocracy and was acknowledged as one of the most brilliant intellectuals of his time. But he failed to write the 'big book' expected of him and tainted his reputation when in old age he erroneously authenticated the forged 'Hitler Diaries'. The tragicomedy of his tenure as Master of Peterhouse forms a fitting finale to the story of a full and varied life.
Reviews / Votes
Extraordinarily gripping, wonderfully vivid -- Richard Holmes It is a long time since I have enjoyed a book as much as this one -- Robert Harris This is an outstanding biography of a fascinating and brilliant man * Sunday Telegraph * Brilliant -- Michael Holroyd Richly rewarding on every level * Independent * Sisman tells the story of Trevor-Roper with authority and relish...a perfect biography * Sunday Times * Detailed, judicious and entertaining, a great treat for those of us who enjoy bitchy don anecdotes * Evening Standard * Magnificent ... riveting -- Susan Hill * The Lady * How lucky for Trevor-Roper, and for us, that the ideal biographer was here. It is impossible to praise Sisman's book too highly * Observer * The combination of Sisman, author of the hugely enjoyable Boswell's Presumptuous Task, and Trevor-Roper, one of the most acerbic and waspish of 20th-century dons, should make this a biography to savour. The feuding was endless, the career impressive, the fall after the Hitler Diaries stupendous * Sunday Times * A fascinating biography * Spectator * Sisman provides a gripping narrative of how Trevor-Roper came to authenticate Hitler Diaries..This biography is bursting with similarly compelling episodes from Trevor-Roper's life * Daily Telegraph * Wonderfully complete and beautifully crafted * Mail on Sunday * Succeeds triumphantly in making the life of the arrogant don a riveting read...an irresistible story -- Jane Ridley * Spectator * The great achievement of Sisman's work lies in the way he skilfully places Trevor-Roper's position as perhaps the foremost historian of the mid-20th century into a proper perspective * Financial Times * This is a fine and serious biography which, on page after page, has made me laugh out loud * Sunday Telegraph * Detailed, judicious and entertaining * Scotsman * Adam Sisman's superb HUGH TREVOR-ROPER: THE BIOGRAPHY surpassed anything I read this year * Irish Times * By miles the best biography I have read this year -- Max Hastings * Mail on Sunday * I was completely beguiled by Adam Sisman's HUGH TREVOR-ROPER * New Statesman * This is a richly comic tale, brilliantly told by Adam Sisman * Sunday Express * An entertaining and scholarly account of the life of the great historian and the milieu of interwar Oxford. * DAILY TELEGRAPH * Sisman delves deep into the life and mind of his subject in this remarkably well-written biography * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH * a rewarding read * SUNDAY TIMES * Sisman's imperious account ... is lovingly researched yet impressively objective, leaving the reader in no doubt as to Trevor-Roper's academic abilities as well as to his failings as a man. * SUNDAY BUSINESS POST * A comprehensive and entertaining biography, highlighting the successes and failures of a complex man * SOUTH WALES ARGUS * detailed, judicious and entertaining, a great treat for those of us who enjoy bitchy don anecdotes -- David Sexton * EVENING TELEGRAPH * Sisman tells the story of Trevor-Roper with authority and relish..a perfect biography -- Robert Harris * SUNDAY TIMES * How lucky for Trevor-Roper, and for us, that the ideal biographer was here. It is impossible to praise Sisman's book too highly -- AN Wilson * OBSERVER * Richly rewarding on every level -- Selina Hastings * INDEPENDENT * This is a fine and serious biography which, on page after page, has made me laugh out loud -- Noel Malcolm * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH * the thoroughness, fairness and frankness of this biography are exemplary.. consistently engrossing -- Stefan Collini * GUARDIAN * A reminder of what a realy luminous portrait looks like. Elegant, witty and incisive, it is a study in paradoxes...Sisman casts light into the darkest crannies of a fascniating personality. * THE OLDIE * Adam Sisman's biography provides a wide-ranging, acute and convincing account of an extremely interesting man. It allows us to get some sense of how his limitations sat side by side with his superb gifts and how the deployment of both were part of a single process. * DUBLIN REVIEW OF BOOKS *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Orion Publishing Co
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 41 mm
Weight
428 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3996-3809-8 (9781399638098)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2012
1st Edition
Weidenfeld and Nicholson
€3.99
Available for download
Person
Adam Sisman is a writer, editor and biographer. He is the author of the acclaimed biographies of two historians often considered rivals - A.J.P. Taylor and Hugh Trevor-Roper. Among his most recent published works are the authorised biography of John Le Carre (2015), two volumes of letters by Patrick Leigh Fermor (2016 and 2018) and The Indefatigable Asa Briggs (2025).