The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly won the £25,000 (about $33,570) Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. The judges said: "Originality, innovation, ambition--The Matchbox Girl not only more than fulfills the judging criteria for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, it confronts a topic of immense complexity in a gripping tour de force. With the skill of a cubist painter, Alice Jolly has altered the angle from which events in Vienna in 1934, and particularly in the Vienna Children's Hospital, are observed, and a story we think we know is disrupted by a heroine who is speechless yet speaks with disturbing energy. The Matchbox Girl may be the most unusual book you read this year. For its honesty, power and storytelling dexterity, our 2026 winner will also be one of the most important."
Jolly commented: "It feels overwhelming and incredibly exciting. I feel as though I've waited all my life for something like this to happen to me--it's a dream come true and I think it's really going to transform my writing life. I'm feeling now incredibly positive about the future and the prize has given me that sense of purpose."