The Dorothy Dunnett History Prize
The winner of the 2011 Dorothy Dunnett History Prize has been announced as Mark Whelan, Royal Holloway, University of London for an essay entitled 'Merchant, Administrator and General: Filippo Scolari in the service of the Hungarian King, 1397-1426'.
The Dorothy Dunnett History Prize, worth £1,000, is offered by the Dorothy Dunnett Society in pursuit of its constitutional aim:
“to advance the education of the public concerning the history, politics, culture and religion of the 11th, 15th and 16th centuries by promoting the study of and research into such subjects particularly as they relate to the works of Dorothy Dunnett and to disseminate to the public the results of such research.”
The winning submission will be published in the house journal of the Dorothy Dunnett Society “Whispering Gallery” (which is distributed quarterly to the international membership of the Society) or on their website, http://dunnettcentral.org. The winner will also be expected to present an account of their research at a Society event.
The novels of Scottish writer Dorothy Dunnett (1923-2001) are supported by extensive geographical and historical research, and have wide-ranging settings including (using present-day names) England, Scotland, Norway, Belgium, France, Italy, Cyprus, Russia, Turkey, Iceland, Poland, Algeria, Gambia and Mali. Her work explores many issues of political, military and cultural/social history.
The author set her fictional characters within the actual events and among the real people of the times. Her novels also explore more general themes including: the development of trade; banking; exploration and discovery; the role of women; the rise of industries such as printing and dyeing; diplomacy and spying; social mobility; transport and travel; domestic life; contemporary literature, music, art and artists; the role of religion communities; conflict and war.
Submissions were sought that reflected Dorothy Dunnett’s skill in bringing alive the events and people of her chosen periods.
The essays of 3,000 words were required to be based on the author's original research and addressing any aspect of current historical research that meets the Society’s aims and/or falls within the thematic guidelines or other relevant topics and is contained, broadly, within the time periods of the novels.
Entries for the Prize were accepted from history students registered on a PhD programme at any recognised higher education institution in the UK and Repulic of Ireland and were considered by a panel of Trustees of the Dorothy Dunnett Society and academics drawn from the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, University of Edinburgh.
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