'Masterful' romance novel wins Women's Prize for Fiction

This year's Women's Prize for Fiction has been awarded to Dutch author Yael van der Wouden for The Safekeep, a novel about an unlikely romance in the Netherlands in the 1960s.

The judges called the book an "astonishing debut... a masterful blend of history, suspense and historical authenticity".

The story follows a reclusive woman whose brother asks if his girlfriend can move in with her for the summer. Initially repulsed by her new housemate, a closer relationship gradually develops between the two women.

The Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, meanwhile, went to Dr Rachel Clarke for The Story of a Heart, an exploration of two families on either side of an organ donation.

The winners were announced at a ceremony in London on Thursday, and will receive £30,000 each.

Author Kit de Waal, chair of judges for the fiction award, described The Safekeep as a "classic in the making" which would be "loved and appreciated for generations to come".

"Books like this don't come along every day," she said. "Every word is perfectly placed, page after page revealing an aspect of war and the Holocaust that has been, until now, mostly unexplored in fiction.

"It is also a love story with beautifully rendered intimate scenes written with delicacy and compelling eroticism."

The Story of a Heart, which won the non-fiction prize, focuses on two family stories involved in organ donation.

It follows the family of a nine-year-old girl named Kiera who dies an a car accident, and a nine-year-old boy, Max, who faces heart failure due to a viral infection.

The book depicts the expertise and dedication of the medical staff who look after Kiera in her final hours, and use her organs to offer Max a new life.

Kavita Puri, chair of judges for the non-fiction prize, said it had "left a deep and long-lasting impression" on the panel.

"Clarke's writing is authoritative, beautiful and compassionate. The research is meticulous, and the storytelling is expertly crafted," she said.

"She holds this precious story with great care and tells it with dignity, interweaving the history of transplant surgery seamlessly."

The book, Dr Clarke's fourth, was adapted into an ITV series in 2024.