The C.W.A. International Dagger was awarded to Pierre Lemaitre for Camille, the final title in the acclaimed
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Verhoeven trilogy, translated by Frank Wynne. The more alert amongst you may also remember that Alex, the second title in the trilogy and also translated by Frank, was jointly awarded the same prize with Fred Vargas in 2013. A special mention should also go to Karim Miské’s Arab Jazz, translated by Sam Gordon, which was shortlisted along with Camille this year.
Arab Jazz
Meanwhile, we are delighted for our parent company Quercus, who had two winners with S G MacLean winning the Endeavour Historical Dagger for The Seeker, and Dan Davies winning the C.W.A. Non-Fiction Dagger for In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile.
So in short, a criminally good evening was had by all. Warmest congratulations to the winners and shortlisters, a full list of which may be found here, and a huge thank you to the C.W.A. for all they do to highlight brilliant crime writing.
July 1, 20150 Comments
Marina Raskova: Navigator, Heroine, N.K.V.D. Agent
Tonight we’re delighted to be launching Lyuba Vinogradova’s Defending the Motherland: The Soviet Women Who Fought Hitler’s Aces in the beautiful surroundings of Pushkin House, where Lyuba will be discussing her book in conversation with Max Hastings. Tickets are available on the door, but for those of you who want a cheeky taster beforehand, or those who just can’t hold on until 7pm this evening, (it’s OK – we’re pretty excited too), we though we’d introduce you to one of the extraordinary women whose story features in this remarkable book.
Defending this particular Motherland, it turns out, was quite a tricky business – especially if you happened to be a woman. Soviet attitudes towards gender equality had yet to permeate certain echelons of military aviation, and quite apart from standard perils such as crashing, being shot down, threat of capture or imminent death, the female soviet pilots also had to battle the ingrained belief of their male superiors that war was no place for a woman – and a woman at the front line, in a fighter plane with every intention of pelting various explosive forms of weaponry at the enemy, was absolutely unthinkable.
Marina Raskova however, was made of tougher stuff. Famed before war broke out for her daring flying exploits, Raskova was known to millions of Soviet citizens. She epitomized the glamour of flying in the late 1930s, being fearless, beautiful, intelligent and very patriotic.
Reskova
Marina Raskova
But there was a lot more to Raskova than met the eye. Following a meteoric career path as Russia’s first female navigator, her celebrity spread following her daring feat of flying from Moscow to the Russian Far East in 1938, with Valentina Grizodubova and Polina Osipenko, a flight that should have taken twenty four hours, and covered 6,000 kilometres. Running out of fuel as they approached the Manchurian border, Grizodubova ordered Raskova to bail out, as her navigator’s seat would be vulnerable in an emergency landing. Raskova landed in thick forest and spent ten days searching for the plane, with just a pistol, a compass, some matches and one and a half bars of chocolate to sustain her. Grizodubova meanwhile had managed to safely land the plane on its undercarriage, and she and Osipenko awaited rescue and Raskova’s return. It took over a week for rescue teams to find the plane, and in that time, the whole of Russia waited on tenterhooks. When news broke that the plane with two pilots had been found, there was widespread celebration. When it was discovered that Raskova too had finally made her way back to the plane, the whole country went wild.
marina, polina, valentina
Marina Raskova, Polina Osipenko and Valentina Grizodubova, following their heroic mission.
The three pilots became the first women to be awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and following her ten-day ordeal, Raskova’s position as one of the most celebrated of all Soviet women was cemented.
When war broke out a few years later, Raskova’s reputation proved invaluable when it came to establishing the first all-female flying unit; it was she who was able to go directly to Stalin and obtain his permission for the foundation of the three female air regiments that form the basis of Defending the Motherland.
But whilst she was widely hailed as a heroine by most Russians, many years after her d