Here is what the judges said: "John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), an ‘eminent Victorian’ but one with a highly unconventional private life both as boy prodigy and mature man, was among the most controversial and influential British thinkers of his age, trenchantly promoting — among many other things — the causes of personal liberty and of the rights of women, in print, in debate and (during a singular spell as an MP) in Parliament. He is given a weighty biography by Richard Reeves: weighty but not stuffy. The book combines accessibility and stylishness with a serious though unsolemn concern to have the reader engage with Mill’s ideas and understand his personal and intellectual context."

I am speaking at the Edinburgh Festival on August 12th, at 4pm in the Pepper Theatre with James Hamilton.

The other four shortlisted books are: Hand Me My Travelin' Shoes: In Search of Blind Willie McTell by Michael Gray; God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain by Rosemary Hill; Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee; Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore.The winner will be announced at the Edinburgh Festival in August. For a piece on the shortlisting click: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/literary-prize-hopefuls-named-816728.html.