Walter Scott Prize – Page 5 – What Cathy Read Next…

The longlist for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2025 was announced earlier today. Congratulations to all the authors and publishers of the books on the longlist. It’s particularly great to see so many independent publishers represented.

As usual, the longlist provided some surprises with only three books I’ve read (all of which I tipped to appear on the list) and another in my TBR pile. I’ve heard of a couple of the others but haven’t got round to reading them. The rest are completely new to me – the authors and/or the books.

I’ve divided the twelve novels into three parts: those I’ve read and reviewed, those I own but have yet to read, and those that are now on my wishlist (if they weren’t already). Links from the titles will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads.

Read and reviewed

The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry (Canongate)
Clear by Carys Davies (Granta)
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (Sceptre)

Waiting to be read

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Viking)

Now on my wishlist

The Catchers by Xan Brooks (Salt)
Mother Naked by Glen James Brown (Peninsula Press)
The Mare: A Novel by Angharad Hampshire (Northodox Press)
The Book of Days by Francesca Kay (Swift Press)
The First Friend by Malcolm Knox (Allen & Unwin)
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (Fig Tree)
A Sign of Her Own by Sarah Marsh (Tinder Press)
Munichs by David Peace (Faber)

I usually say I’ll try to read all the longlisted books before the shortlist is announced in April. I think that’s going to be a tall order this year so I may have to prioritise some of the shorter ones.

Have you read any of the books on the list? Are there any you’re planning to read?

It’s just over a month until the longlist for the The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2025 is announced.

The prize is open to novels written in English and first published in 2024 in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth. Also eligible are novels written in English by authors of British nationality first published outside the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth in 2024 but also published in the UK in 2024. (Sadly that rules out James by Percival Everett, By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult and Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux as they are all American, and The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden as she is Dutch. Josie Ferguson, author of The Silence in Between may be ineligible as well having been born in Sweden.)

The majority of the storyline, i.e. over 50%, must take place at least 60 years ago. The judges are looking for ‘ambition, innovation and enduring appeal, with quality of writing as the deciding factor’. Sounds good to me.

As in previous years, I’ll attempt to read all the longlisted novels I haven’t already read before the shortlist is announced on 15th April. Wish me luck with that as I rarely manage it.

So, time to speculate… Some of the books in my list I haven’t yet read but I’ve picked them based on reviews they’ve received. Links from the titles will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads.

Check back when the longlist is announced to see if any of my picks match the judges’ choices.

Clear by Carys Davies
Precipice by Robert Harris
Gabriel’s Moon by William Boyd
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller
The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier
Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway
The Mischief Makers by Elisabeth Gifford
The Betrayal of Thomas True by A. J. West
Long Island by Colm Tóibín
The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor
Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey, with Leslie Jamison (unsure if this will be eligible as the author sadly died before the novel was completed & it was finished by her friend)