Random House

Their Finest Hour And A Half

In 1940, every draft of every film script had to be approved by the Ministry of Information. Cast and crew were waiting to be called up at any moment, travel was restricted and filming was interrupted by regular bombing raids. And so it is that we find a disparate group of characters whose paths would never have crossed in peacetime: Ambrose Hilliard, a washed up old ham from the golden era of silent movies; Catrin Cole, formerly an advertising copywriter drafted in to ‘write women’ for the Ministry of Information; Edith Beadmore, a wardrobe assistant at Madame Tussauds; and Arthur Frith, peacetime catering manager turned wartime Special Military Advisor.

This distinct group find themselves thrown together in the wilds of Norfolk to ‘do their bit’ on the latest propaganda film – a heart-warming tale of derring do, of two sisters who set out in a leaking old wooden boat to rescue the brave men trapped at Dunkirk. All completely fabricated, of course, but what does that matter when the nation’s morale is at stake? Newly crowned actor, script-writer, costumier and military attaché must swallow their mutual distaste, ill-will and mistrust and unite for the common good, for King and country, and – in one case – for better or worse…

2009 Shortlist

Burnt Shadows

Kamila Shamsie

Home - 2009 Winner

Marilynne Robinson

The Invention of Everything Else

Samantha Hunt

The Wilderness

Samantha Harvey

Scottsboro

Ellen Feldman

Molly Fox's Birthday

Deirdre Madden

2009 Longlist

The Personal History of Rachel DuPree

Ann Weisgarber

The Flying Troutmans

Miriam Toews

American Wife

Curtis Sittenfeld

Burnt Shadows

Kamila Shamsie

Evening Is the Whole Day

Preeta Samarasan

Home - 2009 Winner

Marilynne Robinson

The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight

Gina Ochsner

The Lost Dog

Michelle De Kretser

The Invention of Everything Else

Samantha Hunt

The Wilderness

Samantha Harvey

Intuition

Allegra Goodman

Love Marriage

V Ganeshananthan

Strange Music

Laura Fish

Scottsboro

Ellen Feldman

Blonde Roots

Bernardine Evaristo

Their Finest Hour And A Half

Lissa Evans

Girl in a Blue Dress

Gaynor Arnold

The Household Guide to Dying

Debra Adelaide

A Mercy

Toni Morrison

Molly Fox's Birthday

Deirdre Madden

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2023

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The Women's Prize Podcast

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