Canadian-born author Nancy Huston, 53, has won the Prix Femina, one of France's most prestigious literary prizes.

Huston, who was born in Calgary but has lived in France since 1973, won for her novel Lignes de Faille, written in French.

Canadian writer Nancy Huston poses at the Hotel Crillon in Paris with her novel Lignes de Faille after winning the Prix Femina.
(Laurent Rebours/Associated Press)

She received the prize in Paris on Monday.

Lignes de Faille (Fault Lines) examines how the decisions and political upheavals of one generation affect the lives of the next. The story sweeps from a young German girl in 1940 to a Californian of the 21st century.

Huston, who was educated in the U.S. and France, writes in French although it was not her first language. She has written more than 20 books, including Les Variations Goldberg, which won the Prix Contrepoint and was shortlisted for the Prix Femina.

Irish writer Nuala O'Faolain won the 2006 Prix Femina for non-French writing for her biography of a notorious Irish criminal, The Story of Chicago May.

The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine La Vie Heureuse who wanted a literary prize that reflects female sensibilities.

The prize can go to a man or woman, but is decided each year by an exclusively female jury.