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| Author | Helen Macdonald |
|---|---|
| Genre | Memoir |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
Publication date | 2014 |
| Pages | 300 pp. |
| Awards | Samuel Johnson Prize, Costa Book of the Year |
| ISBN | 0-224-09700-8 |
| OCLC | 898117636 |
H is for Hawk is a 2014 memoir by British author Helen Macdonald. It won the Samuel Johnson Prize and Costa Book of the Year award, among other honours.
H is for Hawk tells Macdonald's story of the year they spent training a Eurasian goshawk in the wake of their father's death. Their father, Alisdair Macdonald, was a respected photojournalist who died suddenly of a heart attack in 2007. Having been a falconer for many years, they purchased a young goshawk to help them through the grieving process.
Upon release, H is for Hawk was generally well-received. On The Omnivore, based on British press reviews, the book received an "omniscore" of 4.5 out of 5. [1] According to Book Marks, based on mostly American press reviews, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on twenty-three critic reviews: twenty "rave" and three "positive". [2] The Bookseller reported on reviews from several publications with a rating scale from "Top form", "Flawed but worth a read", and "Disappointing": Mail on Sunday and Financial Times reviews under "Top form" and Sunday Times and Guardian reviews under "Flawed but worth a read". [3] [4] On May/June 2015 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a 
(4.5 out of 5) based on critic reviews with a summary saying, "Already well on its way to classic status, H Is for Hawk reminds us that "transformation of our docile or resigned lives can be had if we only look up into the world" (Washington Post)". [5] [6] On BookBrowse , the book received a from "Critics' Consensus" and for the media reviews on a rating scale out of five: Financial Times , The Bookseller , The Daily Mail , The Economist , The Guardian , The Sunday Times , and Kirkus Reviews reviews under five and Publishers Weekly review under four and Library Journal review under three. [7]
The book reached The Sunday Times best-seller list within two weeks of being published in July 2014. [8]
In an interview with The Guardian , Macdonald said, "While the backbone of the book is a memoir about that year when I lost my father and trained a hawk, there are also other things tangled up in that story which are not memoir. There is the shadow biography of TH White, and a lot of nature-writing, too. I was trying to let these different genres speak to each other." [9] White was the author of The Goshawk (1951), an account of his own attempt to train a goshawk. [10]
Kevin Jackson, writing for Literary Review , drew further comparisons between Macdonald and White, in that she resembles him "in her gluttony for words both homely and exotic, their associations and histories." [11] Macdonald's rich vocabulary is distinguished by her passion for precision, Jackson wrote: "Her eye is every bit as educated as her mind."
Judges of the Samuel Johnson Prize specifically highlighted that marriage of genres as one of the reasons for selecting H is for Hawk as the winner. [9]
An extract of this book is part of the anthology of Edexcel English Language IGCSE in the new specification.
In "H is for Hawk: A New Chapter", part of BBC's Natural World series in 2017, Macdonald trained a new goshawk chick. [12]
The film rights for the memoir were acquired by Lena Headey in April 2015, with intentions to star and produce in the adaption in conjunction with Plan B Entertainment. [13] [14] [15] In February 2024, it was announced Claire Foy and Brendan Gleeson were cast in the film, along with Philippa Lowthorpe named as the director and Emma Donoghue as scriptwriter. Film4 Productions will also co-produce and co-finance the adaptation with Plan B. [16] Principal photography began in Cambridge in November 2024. [17]
Terence Hanbury "Tim" White was an English writer. He is best known for his Arthurian novels, which were published together in 1958 as The Once and Future King. One of his best known is the first of the series, The Sword in the Stone, which was published as a stand-alone book in 1938.
Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
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Wellcome Book Prize is an annual British literary award sponsored by Wellcome Trust. In keeping with the vision and goals of Wellcome Trust, the Book Prize "celebrates the topics of health and medicine in literature", including fiction and non-fiction. The winner receives £30,000 making it "one of the most remunerative literature awards on offer."
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Helen Macdonald is an English writer and naturalist. Non-binary, they are best known as the author of H is for Hawk, which won the 2014 Samuel Johnson Prize and Costa Book Award; in 2016, the book won the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger in France.
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