Robin Robertson becomes the first Scot and first poet to win the £25,000 award in its 10-year history for his book The Long Take. Set in the great American cities after the Second World War, the book features a combination of verse and prose likened to that of Sir Walter Scott by the judges. “Robertson shows us things we’d rather not see and asks us to face things we’d rather not face. The judges added: “It’s 10 years since the spectacular inauguration of the Walter Scott Prize, with Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall our first winner. “The prize was founded both to acknowledge the part historical fiction plays in our literary landscape and to broaden and deepen the meaning of the term ‘historical fiction’ itself.

Source: Irish Independent June 15, 2019 16:18 UTC