Child’s play
We’ve heard it said the favourite always wins the Man Booker Prize, which suggests the 11-10 that Hilary Mantel’s ‘Wolf Hall’ grabs the prestigious literary award, should be snapped up pronto.
Having put in hours of painstaking research reading the six weighty tomes shortlisted – ok, we may have skimped on the reading part and cribbed generously from last Friday night’s Newsnight Review panel – we have come up with an ingenious punting plan for those looking to dip a toe into this betting heat.
It was noticeable that Rosie Boycott and Michael Portillo, both of whom have solid credentials as assessors of literary flair, having sat on these sort of judging panels before, were somewhat cold on Mantel’s historical novel, and came down more on the side of AS Byatt’s ‘The Children’s Book’.
Byatt has course and distance form to her name – along with twice former winner JM Coetzee – having won the prize back in 1990 with ‘Possession’. So we recommend taking some of the 8-1 available on Byatt, and covering your stake with a wager on Mantel at 11-10.
The winner is announced tomorrow evening at London’s Guildhall, broadcast live on BBC News.
Rob Furber
Hi
I heard the Newsnight debate and whilst I would not disagree with your strategy (indeed I backed Children’s Book at 8/1 following the prog)it’s interesting to note the plunge today on Glass Room, so close to the result being announced.
Hills were first to cut today from 5/1 to 7/2 when already the shortest in the market plsce – could be significant.
Regards MQ