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BRIDGET WHELAN

A blog for readers and writers

A blog about the stories we tell each other and how we tell them...

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Beryl gets her Booker

Novelist Beryl Bainbridge became a Dame (which never sounds nearly as dashing as the male equivalent) but never won the Booker despite being nominated a record five times. 
1973 The Dressmaker was shortlisted but was beaten by JG Farrell's The Siege of Krishnapur.
1974 The Bottle Factory Outing was a contender but the joint winners were Nadine Gordimer for The Conservationist and Stanley Middleton for Holiday.
1990  An Awfully Big Adventure was listed but  the prize went to AS Byatt for Possession.  
1996 Every Man For Himself was beaten by Graham Swift's Last Orders 
1998, Master Georgie was shortlisted the year  Ian McEwan won with Amsterdam.
Beryl died last summer which means that her final novel The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress, to be published sometime this summer, won't be considered for the prize as the rules say it can't be awarded posthumously. 
But Man Booker are making amends by organinsing the Best of Beryl prize, decided by public vote, which pits her five shortlisted novels against one another. 
Voting starts today and you can have your say by clicking on the title of this post.
The winning title will be announced at a ceremony in April. 

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