Vincent Brown, William Dalrymple, and Camilla Townsend are the finalists for the Cundill History Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards for history books.
Brown made the shortlist for Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War, about a series of slave uprisings in 18th-century Jamaica. Brown, a Harvard professor, is also the author of The Reaper’s Garden, which won awards including the James A. Rawley Prize.
Dalrymple was named a finalist for The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company, a history of the ruthless 18th-century company that took over large swaths of India. A reviewer for Kirkus called the book “a depressing but expert account of the rise of the first great multinational corporation.”
Townsend was nominated for Fifth Sun: A History of the Aztecs. Her previous books include Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma and Tales of Two Cities: Race and Economic Culture in Early Republican North and South America.
Peter Frankopan, who chaired this year’s prize jury, said in a news release, “These are three magnificent books chosen from an extraordinarily strong shortlist. The works of the finalists shine new light on topics that are riveting, revelatory and revolutionary.”
The Cundill History Prize, administered by McGill University in Montreal, was founded in 2008. Previous winners have included Anne Applebaum for Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956 and Daniel Beer for The House of the Dead: Siberian Exile Under the Tsars.
The winner of the award, which comes with a $75,000 cash prize, will be announced on Dec. 3.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
