The longlist for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction has been released. Here is the list:
VENETIAN VESPERS John Banville (Faber & Faber)
THE TWO ROBERTS Damian Barr (Canongate)
EDEN’S SHORE OisÃn Fagan (John Murray Press)
HELM Sarah Hall (Faber & Faber)
THE PRETENDER Jo Harkin (Bloomsbury)
BOUNDARY WATERS Tristan Hughes (Parthian Books)
THE MATCHBOX GIRL Alice Jolly (Bloomsbury)
EDENGLASSIE Melissa Lucashenko (Oneworld Publications)
BENBECULA Graeme Macrae Burnet (Polygon)
ONCE THE DEED IS DONE Rachel Seiffert (Virago)
THE ARTIST Lucy Steeds (John Murray Press)
SEASCRAPER Benjamin Wood (Viking)
I have already read Seascraper (which I liked very much) and Venetian Vespers (which I disliked). I have Helm and The Pretender and intend to read them soon. The one that I'm most excited to read is Boundary Waters because it about the fur trade in the early 1800's.
