Award is usually seen as elitist but former screenwriter’s Veiller sur elle has strong sales and is a ‘popular’ read

Jean-Baptiste Andrea has won France’s most prestigious literary award, the Prix Goncourt, for a bestselling saga of the tumultuous life of a sculptor set against the backdrop of the rise of fascism in Italy.

Andrea, who turned to novel-writing after a long career as a screenwriter, has described Veiller sur elle as an expansive story of love, friendship and revenge. The novel stood out for a literary prize that has often been seen as elitist, as it already had strong sales and had been defined by some critics as a “popular” read.