From the Academy

The Academy is a great store of knowledge and opinion about great books. From time to time we ask its members to write a short piece on books they have admired. Here are some of their responses, most recently about the books shortlisted for the 2014 Prize, and further back about the one book they would have liked to win the Prize if it had always existed.

Alice Sebold on Every Eye by Isobel English (1956)

Every Eye by Isobel English is a gorgeously written novel about the deep sadness that can underlie our attempts at love, even when these attempts are deemed successful. English reveals that the price of clear sight, when applied to those around us, can be more dangerous to our happiness than a nice bit of willful ignorance. Isobel English exemplifies the sort of writer who can become too easily overlooked due to circumstance and prejudice.