Earlier this year, Daniel Beer, British historian and History lecturer here at Royal Holloway, published his groundbreaking book The House of the Dead: Siberian Exile under the Tsars. It is an insight into Russian history and the Tsars’ role in exiling people to Siberia under brutal conditions. The book is meticulously researched and showcases the revolutionary spirit and the regime’s desire to quell it as quickly and effectively as possible.
Since its release, the book was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2017, the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize 2017 and the Longman-History Today Book Prize 2017, all of which are extremely prestigious historical and literary prizes. It is an amazing achievement for Dr. Beer to have The House of the Dead chosen. On Nov 17, The House of the Dead was awarded with the International Cundhill History Prize.
The Cundhill History Prize is adminstered by McGill University in Montreal, Canada. It gives an award of US$75,000 to a book each year that is considered to embody “historical scholarship, originality, literary quality and broad appeal.” It is judged by an esteemed panel of judges, who unanimously agreed that Dr. Beer’s book “stood above formidable competition”.
Chair of the Cundhill Prize jury, Professor Margaret MacMillan, stated that “The House of the Dead is a haunting and important contribution to Russian history, and hugely deserving winner of the 2017 Cundill History Prize.”
The House of the Dead was also shortlisted as a book of the year in The Times, The Spectator and the BBC History Magazine.
Dr. Beer teaches the Russian empire as a module option at RHUL and is the first British winner of the Cundhill History Prize since 2010.
The House of the Dead: Siberian Exile under the Tsars is published by Penguin Random House and can be purchased via Amazon or at Waterstones.