French award for Anna Enquist

Anna Enquist has been awarded the Prix du Livre Corderie Royale-Hermione for her book De thuiskomst (published in French as Le retour by Actes Sud, in 2007, in a translation by Isabelle Rosselin). This is an award that is bestowed annually on a literary, academic or journalistic work that distinguishes itself on the basis of an original approach to a maritime theme.

In Le retour (‘The Homecoming’), Enquist describes the life of Elisabeth Batts, the wife of James Cook, the eighteenth-century British sea captain and explorer. Consigned to a lonely existence at home, Elisabeth had to cope with the death of all their six children, while also proving on other fronts to be the true heroine of the chronicle. In relating this narrative, Enquist unfolds an exceptional perspective on maritime history.

Published: December 14, 2007 news