Lyndal Roper has won the 2025 Cundill History Prize for Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War.
Roper’s book, published in February by Basic Books, is an account of the popular revolt that took place in Germany and surrounding areas from 1524 to 1525. The insurrection was a failure, with European aristocrats killing tens of thousands of the peasants who challenged their authority. A critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, “Capably recounting a forgotten episode in European history, Roper’s book is full of lessons for modern readers.”
Ada Ferrer, chair of the prize jury, said in a statement, “Roper traces the emergence, unfolding and eventual undoing of the rebellion and offers a vivid and compelling portrait of the peasants’ world. Through this lens, she delivers a history of the Reformation from the ground up—as it was lived and understood by the ordinary people, who often interpreted its message as far more radical than envisioned by its architects. Her analysis is stunning and multifaceted, seamlessly weaving together cultural, intellectual, social, economic and religious history into a rich and engaging narrative.”
The Cundill History Prize, which is sponsored by McGill University in Montreal and comes with a cash award of 75,000 U.S. dollars, was established in 2008. Previous winners include Anne Applebaum for Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1945–1956; Julia Lovell for Maoism: A Global History; and Kathleen DuVal for Native Nations: A Millennium in North America.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
