Get Lost in These 15 Stunning Books That Have Won the Women's Prize For Fiction

Set in England in the early 1900s, A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore follows siblings Catherine and Rob Allen as they grow up in a turbulent household. Passed from parents to grandparents and soon left with no one but each other, the two become dangerously close. But when World War I forces Cathy and Rob apart, Cathy must learn to fend for herself and fight for her own happiness.

True to its title, A Crime in the Neighborhood by Suzanne Berne begins with a crime — the murder of a young boy in Washington DC. Narrator Marsha looks back on the summer when the murder occurred and paints a picture of a dysfunctional family tearing itself apart at the seams. As Marsha remembers her childhood, she attempts to reconcile that summer with her suspicions about who the real criminal could be, upsetting her whole town in the process.

Andrea Levy's Small Island tells the story of Hortense and Gilbert Joseph, a Jamaican couple who move to London hoping for a fresh start. When their big move doesn't go as planned, they befriend Queenie, a white landlady with plenty of problems of her own. When Queenie's husband Bernard arrives unexpectedly, the group of friends must deal with the fall out. Small Island is a beautiful story of loss, optimism, and the immigrant experience.

On Beauty is a funny, satirical, and brutally honest novel written by Zadie Smith. Howard Belsey is a middle-aged father discontented with his stagnant home and work lives. He and his wife Kiki have three children, each with something different to prove. When their oldest son, Jerome, falls in love with the daughter of a Caribbean-British right-wing political figure, the family must question their individual beliefs before they decide what's really important to them.

In Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie intertwines the stories of three characters living through the Nigerian Civil War. As violence closes in around the three, disrupting their daily lives, they are forced to rely on each other in ways they never thought possible. Adichie tackles complicated themes of colonialism, class, race, and more in a beautifully emotional book.

Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna follows Harrison Shepherd as he journeys from Mexico City to America on a quest to find home. His life is nothing but one odd job after another, until he meets famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. Diego turns Harrison's life upside down, introducing him to Frida Kahlo, Aztec history, and a whole new way of thinking. But when Harrison tries to find a purpose in politics, he finds himself ill-prepared for how unpredictable governments can be.

The Tiger's Wife, by Téa Obreht begins when Natalia is sent on a mission of mercy to an orphanage in the Balkans, inoculating children there and fulfilling her duty as a doctor. As her stay lengthens and local secrets pile up around her, she begins to feel uneasy. Not to mention that Natalia is also privately grieving the death of her grandfather — which may not have been an accident. With the help of her friend, Natalia searches for clues that may help her unravel the mystery of her grandfather's death, learning more about how he lived in the process.

Madeline Miller reimagines the Trojan War in her captivating book The Song of Achilles. When young prince Patroclus is exiled to the court of King Peleus, he meets his fascinating son, Achilles. The two become unlikely friends and grow close, until the beautiful Helen of Sparta is kidnapped and the war begins. Reluctant to fight but concerned for his friend's safety, Patroclus follows Achilles into battle — but war will alter the two's lives forever.

Eimear McBride's first novel A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing depicts the messy, complicated world inside a young woman's head. From her relationship with her brother to her fluctuating sexuality, this book tells an intense tale of overcoming trauma while trying to find your place in the world.

Ali Smith's unique book How to Be Both combines the perspectives of a Renaissance artist in the 1460s with the child of a flower child from the 1960s. How to Be Both switches up time, place, and space in a new way, creating a human story about love, art, and second chances. The book has two parts, but depending on the copy you purchase, either part may come first — so feel free to read it twice to get the whole experience!

Set in Ireland in the 1900s, The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney weaves together the lives of five outsiders who are all affected by an accidental murder in different ways. If you like Derry Girls, you'll love this book about the Irish mob scene and Catholic Ireland's strict views on sex and family.

Naomi Alderman's book The Power reimagines the world as a place where teenage girls have the ability to cause people pain or even death. Using regular people's lives as a backdrop, The Power takes a refreshing look at what our society might be like if young women were in control.

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie is another high-stakes book that examines an immigrant family's experiences after they go their separate ways. Siblings Isma, Aneeka, and Parvaiz split up to follow their aspirations halfway across the globe. But when the sisters meet Eamonn, the son of an important political figure, they see the light at the end of the dark tunnel Parvaiz has gotten lost in. Shamsie tells a heartbreaking story of love, loyalty, and sacrifice.

Happy couple Celestial and Roy are settling into their new life in Atlanta when Roy is convicted of a crime Celestial knows he didn't commit. Lost and confused, lonely Celestial turns to her childhood best friend Andre for support. When, after five years in jail, Roy is released, Celestial must reevaluate her life, her marriage, and her love. Tayari Jones's An American Marriage is a touching story about dealing with the past and moving toward the future.

Love Shakespeare? Then Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell is a must read. In Stratford, England, in the 1590s, 11-year-old Hamnet dies tragically. Four years later, his father pens one of the most famous plays of all time: Hamlet. History buffs and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern fans alike will enjoy O'Farrell's creative take on the origin story of the tormented Danish prince.