Welcome to my not-quite-monthly post on all things historical fiction! I don’t normally post this early in the month, but wanted to highlight the HWA Crown Award longlists which were announced last Wednesday by the Historical Writers Association. There are three separate awards – one for debut novels, one for non-fiction and the other (the Gold Crown) for the best historical novel of the year. The shortlists are announced later in October and the winner in November. I have no plans to try to read all of these books, but thought it would be interesting to look at what I’d read so far from each list.
Gold Crown Award 2022 longlist
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
All of You Every Single One by Beatrice Hitchman
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
The Winter War by Tim Leach
Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet
The Thin Place by CD Major
The Rebel Daughter by Miranda Malins
The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed
The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
The Great Passion by James Runcie
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
I loved both Booth and The Wolf Den, two of my favourite books of the year so far. I also found The Fortune Men a powerful and emotional read, but I’m a bit surprised to see The Rebel Daughter here – I found it interesting but nothing special. As for the others on the list, I’ve enjoyed earlier books by Tim Leach and Graeme Macrae Burnet, but didn’t like the only book I’ve read by Natasha Pulley so I won’t be reading The Kingdoms. I like the sound of The Thin Place by CD Major, an author I hadn’t come across until now. None of the others really appeal, although I know they have all had good reviews.
Non-fiction Crown Award 2022 longlist
Operation Jubilee by Patrick Bishop
The Invention of Miracles by Katie Booth
Midnight in Cairo by Raphael Cormack
The Turning Point by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst
The Irish Assassins by Julie Kavanagh
Metaphysical Animals by Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman
The Library by Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen
Loot by Barnaby Phillips
The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes by Zoë Playdon
The Searchers by Robert Sackville-West
National Treasures by Caroline Shenton
Fallen Idols by Alex von Tunzelmann
I haven’t read any of these or even heard of them, but I’m not a big reader of non-fiction so that’s probably not surprising. I’ve investigated a few of the titles and am particularly drawn to The Turning Point, a year in the life of Charles Dickens, and The Library, about the history of libraries from ancient times to the present.
Debut Crown Award 2022 longlist
The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews
The Queen’s Lender by Jean Findlay
The Silver Wolf by J C Harvey
The Flames by Sophie Haydock
Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
The Mad Women’s Ball by Victoria Mas
Black Drop by Leonora Nattrass
Moonlight & The Pearler’s Daughter by Lizzie Pook
The Deception of Harriet Fleet by Helen Scarlett
Hear No Evil by Sarah Smith
The Plague Letters by VL Valentine
The Spirit Engineer by AJ West
I’ve only read three from this list. Black Drop was an interesting historical mystery and I have the sequel, Blue Water, on my NetGalley shelf to read soon. I thought The Silver Wolf, the first in a series, was an impressive, ambitious debut and The Leviathan was great until the fantasy/magical realism elements became more dominant towards the end. I’ve heard of a few of the others on the list but am unfamiliar with the rest, so will have to find out more.
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Have you read any of these? Are you interested in reading them?
Don’t forget, you can find links to all 74 previous Historical Musings topics here.
She Reads Novels 
I think the only ones I’ve heard of before (and own!) are:
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
Operation Jubilee by Patrick Bishop
It is really *impossible* to keep up with things, isn’t it? [grin]
Yes, it is! Whenever these sort of lists are announced I’m always surprised by how many books I’ve never even heard of.
I enjoyed The Rebel Daughter, but I wouldn’t have put it down for an award.
No, definitely not. I liked it but was surprised to see it on this list!
I’ve read two of these – Small Things Like These, which I think is excellent – and Moonlight & The Pearler’s Daughter, which I rated 3*, so I’m surprised to see it longlisted.
I wasn’t sure if Small Things Like These would be my sort of book, but maybe I’ll try it.
Thanks for sharing, v interesting. The only novel I’d mention on the HWA Crown longlist that you haven’t already read is Great Circle, which I really enjoyed.
I’m glad you liked Great Circle. I hadn’t really considered reading it, but maybe I should give it a try.
Goodness me. I’ve only read the excellent The Fortune Men. Better get my skates on!
It’s not possible to keep up with these lists. I’m always surprised by how many books I haven’t even heard of, let alone read!
I know. And book bloggers are more on-the-case than most.
It’s interesting how many of the first list are also on the Walter Scott list. Of that list, I have read Booth, Small Things Like These, The Fortune Men, and Great Circle. Like you, I haven’t read any of the nonfiction list. I haven’t read any of the debut novels, either, but I see you’ve made a good start on that list! I have The Leviathan on my stack, though.
Yes, there’s a lot of overlap between different awards. I hope you like The Leviathan!
Small Things Like These is one of my books of the year – short but very powerful. Loved The Fortune Men too and not just because it is set close to where I live and I regularly drive past the prison which features in the narrative.
Surprised not to see Maggie O’Farrell on the list but maybe The Marriage Portrait was published after the deadline for the prize so we will see it next year
Yes, I think The Marriage Portrait probably missed the deadline for most of this year’s prizes. I haven’t read it yet but am hoping to start it soon. I’ll have to think about reading Small Things Like These – it hadn’t really appealed at first, but a lot of people seem to have loved it.
Most of these I haven’t heard of. I’ve read/reviewed Small Things Like These and Fortune Men–that’s all.
I haven’t heard of a lot of them either, particularly the non-fiction books. Maybe I’ll try Small Things Like These – I feel as if I’m the only person who hasn’t read it!
Some books I’ve heard about yet. The flames is also translated in Dutch and I’ve had it in my hands a few times before but didn’t buy it. Maybe when it arrives in our library, I’ll read it.
The Flames does sound like an interesting book. I hope your library gets a copy soon.