2019 The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

Hallie Rubenhold’s groundbreaking book reframes one of history’s most sensational crime stories by centring the victims rather than the killer. Through meticulous research, Rubenhold reconstructs the lives of the five women murdered by Jack the Ripper, restoring their humanity and complexity. She dismantles long-held myths and challenges misogynistic narratives that have defined the case. The book reads as both social history and moral reckoning, exposing how poverty, gender, and class shaped these women’s lives. Rubenhold writes with empathy and authority, making a compelling case for rethinking whose stories matter. It is revelatory and deeply moving.

William Feaver’s definitive biography draws on decades of close observation to portray the artist Lucian Freud in all his complexity. Feaver traces Freud’s artistic evolution alongside his turbulent personal life, revealing the discipline behind his intensity. The book avoids hagiography, instead offering a nuanced portrait of ambition, obsession, and creative drive. Rich in anecdote and insight, it also serves as a study of artistic process. Demanding but rewarding, this is a monumental work of art biography.

Azadeh Moaveni’s deeply reported book examines the lives of women drawn into ISIS, resisting simplistic narratives of radicalisation. Through intimate interviews, Moaveni explores grief, idealism, manipulation, and agency. Her approach is empathetic but unsparing, refusing easy moral binaries. The book exposes the emotional and political conditions that shaped these women’s choices. Moaveni’s reporting is nuanced and humane, offering rare insight into lives often reduced to headlines. It is unsettling, illuminating, and essential.

Julia Lovell’s Maoism is a sweeping global history demonstrating how Maoist ideology shaped movements far beyond China’s borders — from Peru to India to Western activist circles. Lovell’s analysis is rigorous, wide-ranging, and often surprising, revealing how Maoism was exported, adapted, and mythologised. She blends political narrative with cultural history, showing how ideology interacts with local conditions. The book is ambitious in scope yet highly readable, correcting misconceptions about Mao’s influence and legacy. It is a masterful work of global political history.

Amelia Gentleman’s investigative work exposed the Windrush scandal, revealing how British citizens were wrongfully detained and deported. The book documents bureaucratic cruelty with precision and compassion, centring the voices of those affected. Gentleman traces how hostile immigration policies produced devastating human consequences. Her reporting is meticulous and morally clear, holding institutions to account. The book stands as a landmark in investigative journalism and public interest reporting.

Casey Cep’s Furious Hours combines true crime with literary history, tracing a series of murders in Alabama alongside Harper Lee’s failed attempt to write about them. Cep expertly weaves courtroom drama, Southern history, and the psychology of obsession. Her narrative is taut and atmospheric, capturing both the violence of the crimes and the moral ambiguity surrounding them. The book also becomes a subtle meditation on justice, storytelling, and why some stories resist resolution. Cep’s prose is elegant and controlled, making this a gripping and thoughtful work.

Ian Urbina’s investigative tour of the world’s oceans exposes a lawless realm of exploitation, crime, and environmental abuse. Urbina reports from fishing vessels, ports, and offshore industries to reveal modern slavery, piracy, and ecological devastation. His storytelling is immersive and relentless, blending adventure reporting with moral urgency. The book exposes how weak governance enables abuses far from public view. It is shocking, gripping, and essential reading about a hidden global frontier.

Laura Cumming’s memoir begins with a childhood abduction and expands into a meditation on memory, art, and perception. Blending personal history with reflections on painting and visual culture, Cumming explores how memory distorts and preserves truth. Her prose is lyrical and searching, attentive to the act of looking itself. The book unfolds slowly, rewarding patience with emotional and intellectual depth. It is both intimate and expansive, showing how personal trauma reverberates across a lifetime. A quietly extraordinary work.

Written from a Turkish prison, Ahmet Altan’s memoir is a defiant meditation on freedom, imagination, and resistance. Despite confinement, Altan asserts the irreducible power of the mind and language. His prose is calm, lucid, and quietly rebellious, transforming imprisonment into philosophical reflection. The book blends personal testimony with broader reflections on authoritarianism. It is both an act of protest and a celebration of intellectual freedom. Spare yet profound, it resonates far beyond its circumstances.

William Dalrymple’s epic history chronicles the rise of the East India Company and the foundations of British imperial rule in India. Through vivid storytelling and rigorous scholarship, Dalrymple reveals how corporate greed and private power reshaped a subcontinent. The narrative is sweeping yet detailed, populated with memorable figures and dramatic turning points. Dalrymple draws clear parallels between past and present, making the book feel urgently relevant. It is both a gripping read and a devastating account of imperial exploitation.

Catrina Davies’s memoir traces her experiences growing up in and around British council housing, interrogating class, belonging, and aspiration. Davies writes with clarity and empathy, blending personal narrative with social critique. She examines how housing policy shapes lives and limits possibility. The book is intimate without being insular, connecting individual experience to systemic inequality. Davies’s voice is thoughtful and grounded, offering insight without sentimentality. It is a quietly powerful account of place and identity.

Dorian Lynskey’s cultural history traces the origins, impact, and afterlife of George Orwell’s 1984. Moving across decades and continents, Lynskey explores how the novel has been interpreted, misused, and reclaimed. The book situates 1984 within Orwell’s life and political thought, while also examining its influence on modern language and protest. Lynskey writes with wit and clarity, making the history both accessible and intellectually rich. It is a compelling study of how literature shapes political imagination.