Maya Jasanoff wins Cundill History Prize for book on author Joseph Conrad

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.