THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2012

 CONGRATULATIONS TO AN ACHIEVER

Sameer Rahim reports from the Man Booker Prize dinner, which took place at London's Guildhall last night.

  Hilary Mantel. said“You wait 20 years for a Booker Prize and two come along at once ...”

Mantel became the first British author – and the first woman – to win the Man Booker Prize twice. Bring Up The Bodies beat five other shortlisted titles including Will Self’s Umbrella, the bookmaker’s favourite.

Not bad for an author whose first historical novel was turned down by a string of publishers who said her work was too weighty for readers who preferred “chick lit in long frocks”.

Bring Up The Bodies chronicles the downfall of Anne Boleyn through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to Henry VIII. The judges said it “utterly surpassed” its predecessor, Wolf Hall, which won the prize in 2009.

Only two writers have done the double before: JM Coetzee and Peter Carey, who hail from South Africa and Australia respectively.
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