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Hugh Trevor-Roper

The Biography
Brief Description
FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRÉ '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... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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The gripping, richly researched and highly entertaining story of the great historian whose career was made and unmade by Hitler - 'An outstanding biography' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)

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FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRÉ '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.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781399638098

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 April 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 44.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 420g

Pages: 624

About the Author

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).

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