Summerscale returns to Baillie Gifford Prize shortlist

Former Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction winner Kate Summerscale has been shortlisted for the £50,000 prize.

The six-strong shortlist, which this year has a historical focus, was announced on 15th October and features two titles from HarperCollins and Penguin Random House, alongside one each from Bloomsbury and Profile Books.

Summerscale, who won in 2008 with The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (Bloomsbury), was selected for the Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story (Bloomsbury Circus), praised by judges for its “conceptual surprises” and “dramatic reversals” while describing a series of apparently inexplicable paranormal events in a suburban 1930s London home.

Also on the list is Craig Brown for his “entirely fresh” One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time (Fourth Estate), which tells the Fab Four's story in a unique way, including the lives they touched from Brigitte Bardot to the Ronettes, Charles Manson to the Queen.

The Idea of the Brain: A History by Matthew Cobb (Profile Books) is the only science book on this year's list. Described by judges as a “warning” rather than just a history, it is an examination of what we think we know about the brain and why, despite technological and scientific advances, the organ remains a mystery.

Also featured is the “definitive” Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture by Sudhir Hazareesingh (Allen Lane). The book uses intricate original research to provide a vivid account of the extraordinary life of the leader of the 18th-century slave rebellion in Haiti.

The shortlist also includes the “shocking” Our Bodies, Their Battlefield: What War Does to Women by Christina Lamb (William Collins). The book sees the renowned foreign correspondent present an indelible portrait of the ways in which rape is weaponised in modern warfare.

The final pick is Stranger in the Shogun's City: A Woman’s Life in 19th-Century Japan by historian Amy Stanley (Chatto & Windus), described by judges as an “astonishingly researched” book which presents a vibrant portrayal of Tokyo.

Martha Kearney, chair of judges, said: “In 2020 we certainly learned that truth is stranger than fiction and our shortlist shows the sheer power of real life stories. From brain science to Beatlemania, Shoguns to suburban poltergeists, sex slavery to slave rebellions, this is our eclectic lockdown library.”

The winner will be announced in a live virtual celebration on 24th November at 6 p.m.