Meet Eleanor Catton. At 28 years old, she's the youngest person to have ever received the Man Booker Prize, Britain’s most prestigious literary award. At a ceremony yesterday in London, the New Zealander won for
The Luminaries
, a lengthy novel set in a 19th-century version of her homeland. In her acceptance speech, she acknowledged that the book was a "nightmare" for her publishers, whom she thanked for striking an "elegant balance between making art and making money." Catton set not one but two records yesterday: Her 848-page book also happens to be the longest book ever awarded the Booker Prize.
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