Unconventional Winner of Walter Scott Prize
A book described by judges as "may be the most unusual book you read this year" has been awarded the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.
Alice Jolly's novel The Matchbox Girl narrates the story of Adelheid Brunner, a mute autistic patient of Dr Hans Asperger at the Vienna Children's Hospital during the 1930s, a period when Vienna was under Nazi occupation.
Jolly accepted her award from Matthew Maxwell Scott, the great-great-great-great grandson of Walter Scott, at a ceremony held during the Borders Book Festival near Melrose.
The Walter Scott Prize, administered by the Abbotsford Trust, is now in its 17th year. Previous winners include notable authors such as Sebastian Barry, Robert Harris, Andrea Levy, and Hilary Mantel.
Judges' Praise for Originality and Depth
The judging panel commended Jolly's work for its "originality, innovation, ambition," highlighting how it "confronts a topic of immense complexity in a gripping tour de force."
"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 was included in the first ever all-British shortlist for the award.
Author's Reflections on Writing the Book
Discussing her motivations, Jolly stated:
"I remain constantly troubled by that age of old question as to how people who were certainly not wholly 'evil' nevertheless found themselves drawn into appalling crimes."
She further explained that in 2018, two non-fiction books on the history of autism were published, presenting vastly different accounts of Dr Asperger.
"My book started with the simple question – who was Dr Asperger?"
Historical Context of Dr Hans Asperger
Dr Hans Asperger is recognized for his work in child psychiatry and for identifying Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, in 1944. However, the term "autistic psychopathy" was used until 1981, when British psychiatrist Lorna Wing introduced the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome.
Documents uncovered in 2018 revealed that Dr Asperger sent child patients to the Am Spiegelgrund clinic in Vienna, where they were executed by the Nazi regime.
Focus on Forgotten Colleagues
During her research, Jolly realized that Asperger's overlooked colleagues were "perhaps more interesting than he was."
"I became obsessed with bringing them into the light and celebrating the ways in which they struggled to hold onto their research, and their principles, despite finding themselves in the eye of the most evil storm of the 20th Century."
