Hilary Mantel wins inaugural Walter Scott Prize

HILARY MANTEL WINS INAUGURAL WALTER SCOTT PRIZE
 
Hilary Mantel has won the inaugural Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction, for her much-acclaimed novel Wolf Hall.  The prize, worth £25,000, was awarded today at Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford home in the Scottish borders, as part of the Brewin Dolphin Borders Book Festival. 
 
The author was unable to accept the prize in person due to illness, but gave the following statement, which was read out by broadcaster James Naughtie, accepting on her behalf:
 
“I am astonished and delighted and gratified to be the first winner of the Walter Scott prize.  Intense involvement in history was what started me writing. And now - although I hope to go on writing contemporary novels - the challenges and perplexities of historical fiction have become my preoccupation. And just in time, because this has been an interesting year for writers and readers of the historical novel - perhaps a turning point year.
 
But much the best thing that has happened for lovers of historical fiction is the founding of this prize. When I first heard of it I couldn’t quite believe it; it is such a startlingly generous and imaginative gesture, an appropriately old-fashioned act of patronage of the arts. In the years to come, this prize will magnetise attention and stimulate debate.
 
I am very sorry that ill-health prevents my being here to collect the prize and to say thank you in person, but I am deeply grateful to the judges, the founders of the prize, and the sponsors of the Borders Book Festival. For writers, prizes should act as the spur to achievement. It’s lovely to be rewarded, but you’re only as good as your next book. Conscious of this, I am working very hard to write a sequel to Wolf Hall which readers will value and enjoy just as much as the first book. This prize acts as the greatest possible encouragement. “
 
The Walter Scott Prize is in the top five richest UK literary prizes, and is sponsored by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, distant kinsmen of Scott. To qualify, novels must be set sixty years ago or more. 
 
Wolf Hall was chosen from a shortlist of seven, which included books with settings ranging from ancient Rome to pre-war Czechoslovakia. The Judges of the prize said of the winning book:
 
“For once, you can believe the hype.  This is as good as the historical novel gets – immersive, constantly engaging, beautifully crafted, and compulsively readable.  Choose any superlative: it will fail this book.  Mantel’s empathy for, and assimilation of, her world is so seamless and effortless as to be almost disturbing.   Each book on the shortlist is deserving of the prize, but Wolf Hall was for us the outright winner, in a class of its own.”
 
The prize was awarded by veteran parliamentarian Tam Dalyell, at Scott’s home Abbotsford.  Five of the seven shortlisted authors had congregated at Abbotsford for the ceremony, including Robert Harris, Adam Foulds, Simon Mawer, Adam Thorpe and Iain Pears.  The sixth shortlistee, Sarah Dunant, was unable to attend because of a long-booked birthday celebration in Italy, the setting for her books.
 
The Duke of Buccleuch, sponsor of the prize, said:
“Walter Scott was the founding father of the historical novel.  ‘Waverley’, published in 1814 and completed at Abbotsford, was the world’s first bestseller, the first novel to make novel reading respectable for a mass audience.  So the venue for today’s presentation could not be more appropriate, and it is I believe a wonderful way of reminding the world of the profound importance of this great house and of the man who created it.”
 
Abbotsford House is now run by The Abbotsford Trust, which recently began a fundraising journey to raise the estimated £10 million it believes is required to save the house for future generations.  The Trust aims to create a world-class visitor attraction and has wide-ranging plans to make Abbotsford the centre of a renaissance of Scott’s works.
 
Jacquie Wright, Executive Manager, The Abbotsford Trust said;
“We’re delighted to welcome so many prestigious authors and guests to Scott’s home.  Sir Walter Scott loved to entertain and literary visitors to Abbotsford have included names such as Byron and Wordsworth.  We’re sure Scott would have greatly enjoyed today’s event and we are exceptionally grateful that this new Award is helping to raise the profile of both Scott and his beloved Borders home.”
 
The prize has been supported by national events agency EventScotland. Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, said:
 
“The Borders Book Festival attracts thousands of people to the Borders each year along with some of the country’s most prestigious authors, making it a real highlight in Scotland’s cultural events calendar.  The Walter Scott Prize adds another dimension to the festival and serves only to strengthen an already stellar event.”
 
Four of the shortlisted authors will go on to take part in a panel discussion about historical fiction at the Brewin Dolphin Borders Book Festival at 5.00pm on the same day as the Prize.
The judges for the inaugural prize were Elizabeth Buccleuch, Elizabeth Laird, Allan Massie, David Robinson, and Gavin Wallace.
 
For further information please contact:
Rebecca Salt Tel 01620 829 800 

email [email protected]

• The Walter Scott Prize 2010 shortlist comprised:

Hodd by Adam Thorpe
Lustrum by Robert Harris
Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
Stone’s Fall by Iain Pears
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
 
·         The Walter Scott Prize is the fifth richest book prize in the UK, after the Man Booker Prize, the Warwick Prize for Writing, the Orange Prize and the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction.  The winner’s award equals that of the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Scottish Book of the Year and the Costa Book Award. 
·         The prize is made possible by the imaginative generosity of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, and is supported by EventScotland, the national events agency.
 
·         The Walter Scott Prize definition of ‘historical’ is where the events described take place at least 60 years before the publication of the novel, and therefore stand outside any mature personal experience of the author. This definition comes from Walter Scott’s subtitle for Waverley: ‘Tis Sixty Years Since’.
 
·         EventScotland is the national events agency, and is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors.