Tag: literary prizes

5 Books Shortlisted for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction @waltscottprize

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Submissions from publishers for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2024 opened on 24th August. I’ve read many of the longlisted and shortlisted books over the years – you can see my dedicated page here – and it’s fair to say I wouldn’t have read many of them, or even heard of them in some cases, if it hadn’t been for the Walter Scott Prize. I’ve selected five shortlisted books I thoroughly enjoyed, even if they didn’t go on to win. Links from each title will take you to my review.

The Wardrobe Mistress by Patrick McGrath (shortlisted in 2018) – ‘January 1947. London is in ruins, there’s nothing to eat, and it’s the coldest winter in living memory. To make matters worse, Charlie Grice, one of the great stage actors of the day, has suddenly died. His widow Joan, the wardrobe mistress, is beside herself with grief. Then one night she discovers Gricey’s secret. Plunged into a dark new world, she realises that the war isn’t over after all.’

Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller (shortlisted in 2019) – ‘One rain-swept February night in 1809, an unconscious man is carried into a house in Somerset. He is Captain John Lacroix, home from Britain’s disastrous campaign against Napoleon’s forces in Spain.’

Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor (shortlisted in 2020) – ‘1878, The Lyceum Theatre, London. Three extraordinary people begin their life together: Henry Irving is the volcanic leading man and impresario; Ellen Terry is the most lauded and desired actress of her generation, outspoken and generous of heart; and ever following along behind them in the shadows is the unremarkable theatre manager, Bram Stoker.’

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams (shortlisted in 2021) – ‘In 1901, the word ‘bondmaid’ was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.’

Fortune by Amanda Smyth (shorlisted in 2022) – ‘1920s Trinidad. Eddie Wade’s truck breaks down and he’s offered a ride by businessman, Tito Fernandez. So begins a novel based on a real-life event about love, money, greed and ambition.’

The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023 – My Wrap-Up

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WalterScottPrizeThe announcement of the winner of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023 on 15th June 2023 at the Borders Book Festival – These Days by Lucy Caldwell – was the final stage in a process that began in August last year when submissions opened.

Over the next few months, books submitted by publishers were whittled down by the judging panel to a longlist of twelve which was announced on 14th February 2023.  The books that made the longlist were:

Walter Scott Prize 2023 Longlist
Photo credit: The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

The Romantic by William Boyd
These Days by Lucy Caldwell
My Name is Yip by Paddy Crewe
The Geometer Lobachevsky by Adrian Duncan
Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris
The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph
The Chosen by Elizabeth Lowry
The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk
The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane
Ancestry by Simon Mawer
I Am Not Your Eve by Devika Ponnambalam
The Settlement by Jock Serong

As an avid reader of historical fiction I like to think I have my finger on the pulse but, as usual, the longlist provided some surprises with books I’d not only not read, but never even come across. In fact, I’d only read two of the books that appeared on the list – These Days and The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho. And my attempt to predict the books that might appear on the longlist was pretty much a failure – I only got three right.

I managed to read three more of the longlisted books – The Romantic, I Am Not Your Eve and The Settlement – before the shortlist of seven books was announced on 4th April 2023.

Walter Scott Prize 2023 Shortlist
Photo credit: The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

These Days by Lucy Caldwell
The Geometer Lobachevsky by Adrian Duncan
Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris
The Chosen by Elizabeth Lowry
The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane
Ancestry by Simon Mawer
I Am Not Your Eve by Devika Ponnambalam

I managed to read a further three of the books – The Chosen, Ancestry and The Geometer Lobachevsky – before the winner was announced.  Based on the books I read, my choice of winner would have been The Chosen. I still hope to get around to reading the two shortlisted books I haven’t read. My attempts to read all the longlisted books in previous years have ended in failure so I won’t even begin to think about trying to do that.

Have you read any of the books on the longlist or shortlist? If so, what was your favourite? And if you managed to read them all – kudos to you, if you did – do you agree with the judges’ decision?