Based on a lifetime's work in the field, Sir Roy Strong offers an expert and engaging new look at portrait painting in Stuart England, studying the sitters as much as the artists.
Sir Roy Strong Book order
Roy Strong is an English art historian and writer whose work delves into visual culture and its reflection in art and society. His essays and analyses penetrate historical perspectives, offering a compelling look at the evolution of artistic styles and social trends. Strong often examines how visual expressions shaped and mirrored the values and beliefs of their time. His literary contribution lies in connecting historical erudition with engaging storytelling.






- 2023
- 2022
The definitive history of coronations and the Royal Family, from acclaimed writer Roy Strong.
- 2021
The Elizabethan Image
- 224 pages
- 8 hours of reading
The new paperback edition of Roy Strong's popular introduction to Elizabethan portraiture.
- 2020
Types and Shadows: Diaries 2004-2015
- 544 pages
- 20 hours of reading
The third volume of diaries from the bestselling author and former director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
- 2018
The Story of Britain
- 608 pages
- 22 hours of reading
A fully updated, authoritative and exceptionally readable history of Britain from the Romans to the present.
- 2017
Splendours and Miseries: The Roy Strong Diaries, 1967-87
- 400 pages
- 14 hours of reading
The first volume of diaries from a bestselling author and former director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
- 2017
The second volume of diaries and sequel to Splendours and Miseries from the bestselling author and former director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
- 2016
A lavishly illustrated history of gardens drawing from Shakespeare’s works and garden writing—published to commemorate the 400th anniversary year of his death Published in association with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, The Quest for Shakespeare’s Garden traces the origins of garden history and the Elizabethan garden, as well as telling the story of the Bard’s own garden in Stratford-upon-Avon. Beautifully presented, the text is accompanied by quotations from Shakespeare’s works and lush illustrations of his gardens, past and present, plucked from a multitude of sources including embroidered Elizabethan clothing and Victorian gardening books, as well as various gardens around the world. Roy Strong’s detailed account is inspired by Shakespeare’s works and supplemented by Francis Bacon’s 1625 essay “Of Gardens" which provides Elizabethan-era advice to garden enthusiasts on such topics as topiary, seasonal gardens, scents, aviaries, and more.
- 2013
Roy Strong
- 286 pages
- 11 hours of reading
For nearly half a century, Sir Roy Strong has enjoyed a high public profile in the arts world in Britain. In this book, richly illustrated with drawings, letters, photographs and other archival material, he recounts for the first time the story of his social origins and the roots of his life-long passion for the culture and history of England.
- 2012
Why do we still get misty-eyed about England's green and pleasant land? Celebrating our literature, music, art, gardening and drama, Strong identifies those icons and traditions that still speak to us - it is a vision of England that is inclusive and relevant for everybody living in the country today.