Historical fiction (see yesterday's post) is in the news again today with the announcement of the shortlist for the Walter Scott Prize, the judges describing their deliberations as "the toughest choice, from the strongest longlist, in the Prize’s five year history":
Life After Life
The Luminaries
Harvest
Fair Helen
An Officer and a Spy
The Promise
I am particularly pleased to see Ann Weisgarber's book there for - as I said here - there is so much to enjoy and admire in it. I made reference yesterday to the craft of writing historical fiction, and Ann's novel is a textbook example, economical, exact, beautifully judged in terms of the telling of the story and the recreation of the real events which form its setting. If you haven't already read it, I'd urge you to seek it out.
