Latest news with #HistoricalFiction
New York Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
9 New Books We Love This Week
Every week, critics and editors at The New York Times Book Review pick the most interesting and notable new releases, from literary fiction and serious nonfiction to thrillers, romance novels, mysteries and everything in between. You can save the books you're most excited to read on a personal reading list, and find even more recommendations from our book experts. Historical Fiction 33 Place Brugmann In this elegant, absorbing tale, half a dozen longtime residents of an apartment building in World War II-era Brussels share their perspectives, including Charlotte Sauvin, an aspiring artist secretly married to a Jewish man. Unlike some of her neighbors — the Jewish family who escape to England, the Russian seamstress who follows her lover to France — Charlotte remains in Brussels: 'Just as you got used to one thing, there was another. It was always happening to someone else, until it wasn't, and by then it was too late.' Read our review. Biography Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Andrew Miller wins Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction
Author Andrew Miller has won the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction after being shortlisted twice for the award in the was announced as the winner at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, taking the £25,000 work, The Land In Winter, only just fell into the contest's definition of a historical novel being one which is set at least 60 years tells the story of a remote English community during a long, hard winter between 1962 and 1963. Founded in 2009, the prize is open to novels published in the previous year in the UK, Ireland or the its past winners are Sebastian Barry, Robert Harris, Andrea Levy and Hilary Mantel. This year's winning author saw off a shortlist of The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry, The Mare by Angharad Hampshire, The Book of Days by Francesca Kay, Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon and The Safekeep by Yael van der was presented with his prize by Matthew Maxwell Scott, the great-great-great-great grandson of Sir Walter. The panel of judges, chaired by writer Katie Grant, said: "A true master craftsman, Andrew Miller has painted big themes on a subtle canvas of tiny detail."With rare and delicate skill, The Land in Winter opens up the lives of Bill and Rita, Eric and Irene in ways that will sing differently to each reader, and sing differently again on each re-reading."With prose as softly dazzling as the snow of the 1962/63 winter in which the novel is set, Andrew Miller takes his richly-deserved place amongst the Walter Scott Prize pantheon of great contemporary writers."The Bristol-born writer said the characters in his novel "came walking slowly out of a blizzard". "I leaned quite heavily into the early married lives of my parents, and some of the people they knew, all of whom are long dead now," he said."One of the few advantages of getting older is that your own past becomes material for an historical novel."The Walter Scott Prize is one of the UK's major literary with Ms Grant this year's judging panel included art historian James Holloway, children's author Elizabeth Laird, broadcaster James Naughtie, writer and filmmaker Saira Shah, previous Young Walter Scott Prize winner Rosi Byard-Jones, and award-winning bookseller Rosamund de la Hey.
The Independent
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
All the books on the longlist for the Walter Scott book prize
Twelve of the best historical novelists have been longlisted for a £25,000 award named after famous Scottish writer and poet Sir Walter Scott. There Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction longlist will be narrowed down from 12 to a shortlist in May, with the winner announced at the Borders Book Festival in June. The novels on the longlist are: The Heart In Winter by Kevin Barry The Catchers by Xan Brooks Mother Naked by Glen James Brown Clear by Carys Davies The Mare by Angharad Hampshire The Book of Days by Francesca Kay The First Friend by Malcolm Knox Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon A Sign of Her Own by Sarah Marsh The Land In Winter by Andrew Miller Munichs by David Peace The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. More than half the books on the list are from independent publishers and small presses. The settings of the longlisted novels span centuries, and even millennia, right up to events within living memory. Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was a novelist, historian, poet and playwright. The prize is managed by the Abbotsford Trust with support from the Hawthornden Foundation, the Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust and the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry in memory of Elizabeth Buccleuch. Chairwoman of the judges Katie Grant said: 'It has been exciting to read the diverse crop of novels on the WSP 2025 Longlist. 'We've discovered little-known aspects of our collective pasts, experienced excesses of human behaviour and been placed so authentically in the middle of the action that we've felt part of the action. 'We're delighted to celebrate debut and emerging writers published by small presses, as well as more established authors and publishers. 'With two new judges on board, including one of the first winners of the Young Walter Scott Prize, we look forward to testing these novels against the prize criteria of originality, innovation, longevity and quality, and then debating the merits of all twelve books and choosing our shortlist later this spring.' Matthew Maxwell Scott, Walter Scott's great-great-great-great grandson and trustee of The Abbotsford Trust, which operates the Prize, said: 'Walter Scott, founding father of the historical novel, understood that our present is shaped by the tales we tell ourselves of the past. 'The Walter Scott Prize, now run from the vibrant hub of his great home, Abbotsford, shines a spotlight on the very best new historical fiction from across the UK, Ireland and the Commonwealth. 'In recognising excellence, the prize honours Scott's legacy by inspiring more people to discover the joy and value of historical fiction, supporting both new and established writers in their careers and bringing readers and authors of this illustrious genre together to celebrate and question each other.'
