The Winston Graham Historical Prize shortlist was compiled with the help of many amazing readers. One reader, Jane Rainbow, has shared a bit about the man whose legacy began a tradition of prize giving at the museum:

My relationship with Winston Graham began in October 1976. I was thirteen. He was sixty-eight. And that’s the thing about writers, they cast their creative nets into the abyss little knowing who or what they might entrap. I never met the esteemed author and yet I feel as if he has accompanied me throughout my life.

For my generation, the first Poldark television series starring Robin Ellis and Angharad Rees brought Cornwall into our homes. I used to tape the episodes on a portable cassette recorder, which meant the whole family had to sit in reverential silence throughout. Yes, I was obsessive in that way teenagers can be. When my mother presented me with the first of the Poldark novels whilst I was convalescing from a painful dental operation, the feeling only intensified. The historical setting – fusing the American War of Independence with the French Revolution and Cornwall’s industrial glory years – fired my imagination. It was then the ‘Winston Graham entrapment’ truly commenced.

At school my eccentricities were embraced. They let me focus on the copper industry in geography lessons and in economics were most encouraging of my interest in global tin prices. My father was less understanding of my need to take four Poldark novels wrapped in a blanket on every caravan holiday.

It surprised no one when I moved to Cornwall in 1989, lured by the power of Winston Graham’s storytelling. What I discovered of course is that his research was meticulous and firmly rooted in the county he inhabited for thirty-four years. As a teacher of history, my Poldark years always stood me in good stead. Now, as a prospective author, Graham’s sense of place and attention to detail informs my approach to writing. And his prodigious use of Cornish names and places means I am still inclined to spit every time I pass the sign for Warleggan on the A30.

The Winston Graham Historical Prize is awarded to a piece of historical fiction set in the UK with a strong sense of place. The winner will be announced on Friday 22 March. Find out more on our Awards page.