The Whitfield Book Prize is a prize of £1,000 awarded annually by the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

to the best work on a subject of British or Irish history published within the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland during the calendar year. To be eligible for the award, the book must be the first history work published by the author.

History of the prize

The prize was founded in 1976 out of the

bequest A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...

of Archibald Stenton Whitfield. Originally, the prize was £400; five years later, it was increased to £600. Currently, the prize is £1,000.

Winners and shortlisted writers

Source
Royal Historical Society
''Ireland and the Great War'', written by Niamh Gallagher, became the first book about Irish history to win the prize in 2020.

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield British literary awards Awards established in 1977 1977 establishments in the United Kingdom History awards First book awards Royal Historical Society