Other nominees for the award were English author Laline Paull, Canadian author Rachel Cusk, Pakistani author Kamila Shamsie and Welsh author Sarah Waters.

Ali Smith, a Scottish author, has also won the 2014 Goldsmiths Prize and the Novel Award in the 2014 Costa Book Awards for the same book.

Earlier, the book was shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize and the 2015 Folio Prize.

About the book

The book is about George and Francesco del Cossa. While the former is a pedantic 16-year-old girl living in contemporary Cambridge, Francesco del Cossa is a 15th century Italian renaissance artist.

The story is about how the lives of these two persons are connected together surpassing the boundaries of time, space and gender.

Two versions of the book were published simultaneously; one in which George's story appears first, the other in which Francesco's comes first.

About Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction

Baileys Prize was set up in 1996 with an aim to celebrate and promote international fiction by women throughout the world. Earlier it was known as the Orange Prize.

This prize is awarded annually and it celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing.

The winner of the prize receives a cheque for 30000 pounds and a limited edition bronze known as a ‘Bessie’, created by the artist Grizel Niven.

Previous winners of the award include Eimear McBride for A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing (2014) and AM Homes for May We Be Forgiven (2013).