The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2024 Longlist

WalterScottPrizeThe longlist for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2024 was announced on 22nd February. Congratulations to all the authors and publishers of the books on the longlist.

As usual, the longlist provided some surprises but also includes three books I’ve read and two more that are in my TBR pile.

I’ve divided the twelve novels on the list 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 New Life by Tom Crewe
My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

Waiting to be read

Music in the Dark by Sally Magnusson
Absolutely & Forever by Rose Tremain

On my wishlist

A Better Place by Stephen Daisley
Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein
For Thy Great Pain, Have Mercy on my Little Pain by Victoria Mackenzie
Cuddy by Benjamin Myers
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
Mister Timeless Blyth by Alan Spence
In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas

The shortlist will be announced in May by which time I hope to have read more of the longlisted books and be in a position to make a few predictions. Have you read any of the books on the list? Are there any you’re planning to read?
Walter Scott Prize Longlist 2024

#WWWWednesday – 21st February 2024

WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!


Currently reading

The List of Suspicious ThingsThe List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (ARC, Penguin)

Yorkshire, 1979. Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South. Because of the murders.

Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn’t an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv’s mum stopped talking. Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?

So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don’t. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families – and between each other – than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

The Other PrincessThe Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce (eARC, Allison & Busby via NetGalley)

A princess enslaved becomes goddaughter to a queen.

By the time she was seven years old, Aina had been born into life as an Egbado princess, witnessed the brutal killing of her entire family, and been enslaved to a rival chieftain. With a death sentence hanging over her head, she would also face being bartered as an exotic trophy, renamed and presented to the distant Queen Victoria as a ‘gift’.

From these traumatic beginnings, Sarah Forbes Bonetta’s will to survive led her to negotiate Her Majesty’s court, friends in high places and to flourish in a world far removed from her rural African upbringing. From West Africa to Windsor Castle, The Other Princess is a vivid imagining of the life of Queen Victoria’s Black goddaughter, shining a light on a woman searching for home, love and identity.


Recently finished

Remember, Remember by Elle Machray (HarperNorth)

In Every Mirror She’s Black by Lola Akinmade Åkerström (Head of Zeus)

Notes of Change (Sam Plank Mystery #7) by Susan Grossey


What Cathy Will Read Next

The Story CollectorThe Story Collector by Iris Costello (ARC, Penguin)

London, 1915: Tarot reader Katerina is trying to hold her life together amid the wartime chaos. When she opens a bakery that offers divination alongside sweet treats, she is hailed as a beacon of hope. But Katerina is hiding a dark truth that could cost her everything.

Germany, 1918: A mute British soldier is taken to a prisoner of war camp where he meets Miriam, a researcher. She is drawn to his gentle manner and secretly vows to help him. But soon she will have to make an impossible will she save the one she loves, or herself?

Cornwall, Present Recently widowed Edie is astonished to discover a mysterious box hidden in the wall of her newly renovated cottage. As Edie starts to investigate, she uncovers a secret that has lain hidden for over a century…