Maya Jasanoff wins Cundill History Prize for book on author Joseph Conrad
Posted November 16, 2018 2:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONTREAL — Harvard professor Maya Jasanoff’s book about “Heart of Darkness” author Joseph Conrad has won the US$75,000 Cundill History Prize.
Referred to as a genre-bending scholarly work, Jasanoff’s “The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World” was praised by jurors for the way it captures Conrad’s travels, writing and personality.
Jasanoff beat out two other finalists — biographer Caroline Fraser for “Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder,” and Ohio State University professor Sam White, who wrote “A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe’s Encounter with North America.”
The prestigious award, which is run by McGill University, rewards non-fiction history writing in English.
Jasanoff was announced as the winner at a gala at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Thursday evening.
The two runners up received an excellence award and US$10,000 each.
The Canadian Press