A new biography of Alexander the Great has won the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction, marking the first time a book focused on ancient history has received the prestigious British literary award.
Edmund Richardson’s Alexander: God, King, Man was announced as the winner at a ceremony in London on Wednesday, November 4. The award carries a £50,000 prize.
Alexander: God, King, Man by Edmund Richardson
Richardson, a professor of classics at Durham University, spent a decade researching the life of the Macedonian king, drawing on historical sources written in 12 ancient languages.
The biography examines Alexander’s rise from a young ruler who inherited a financially troubled kingdom at the age of 20 to one of history’s most influential military commanders.
His campaigns created an empire stretching from Greece and Egypt across the Persian Empire and into territories reaching India. Alexander died in Babylon at the age of 32.
New research sheds light on Alexander’s life
Richardson’s work combines historical research, new translations and archaeological evidence to explore the life and legacy of Alexander.
Speaking to the Associated Press, the author said Alexander was not initially regarded as a future world conqueror when he inherited the Macedonian throne.
He described the young king as a relatively unremarkable successor to his father, Philip II, before his military campaigns transformed the ancient world.
Richardson said Alexander’s conquests connected regions and civilisations in unprecedented ways, spreading knowledge, religious beliefs, science, astronomy and art across vast territories.
Judges praise immersive biography
The judging panel, chaired by British journalist Kirsty Lang, praised the book for bringing ancient history to life through extensive research and compelling storytelling.
Lang said the biography made readers feel as though they were accompanying Alexander’s army across battlefields and through Central Asia and Egypt.
The judges described the work as a tribute to the humanities and the contributions of historians and archaeologists, particularly at a time when universities in Britain and elsewhere face pressure on funding for these disciplines.
First ancient history winner
The Baillie Gifford Prize, established in 1999, recognises outstanding English-language nonfiction covering subjects including history, politics, science, biography, sport and the arts.
Richardson’s book was selected from more than 350 entries and beat five other finalists.
They included Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling, Nicholas Boggs’ Baldwin: A Love Story, Matthew Sweet’s The Great Dictator, Anand Gopal’s Days of Love and Rage and Andrea Wulf’s The Traveller.
Last year’s winner was Australian author Helen Garner for How to End a Story: Collected Diaries.
The award highlights continuing international interest in Alexander the Great and the history of ancient Greece and Macedonia.