You be the judge.
One year the Man Booker Prize eligibility rules changed and a bunch of novels–by people like Muriel Spark and Iris Murdoch–fell through the cracks. So they’re holding another contest and the public gets to vote. Sort of a People’s Choice Award for British novels of 1970.
The shortlist:
(Note: Iris Murdoch didn’t make the cut!)
- The Birds on the Trees by Nina Bawden (Virago)
- Troubles by J G Farrell (Phoenix)
- Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault (Arrow)
- The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark (Penguin)
- The Vivisector by Patrick White (Vintage)
- The Bay of Noon by Shirley Hazzard (Virago)
And The Driver’s Seat is already sitting on my shelf…
Elizabeth Bass 