Hilary Mantel, in an October 6 ceremony, was awarded the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for Wolf Hall, the organization’s website reports. The period novel, set in the 1520’s Tudor court, takes as its subject Thomas Cromwell’s rise in stature within Henry VIII’s heirless court. James Naughtie, Chair of the judges, said about the work: “Hilary Mantel has given us a thoroughly modern novel set in the 16th century. Wolf Hall has a vast narrative sweep that gleams on every page with luminous and mesmerising detail.

“It probes the mysteries of power by examining and describing the meticulous dealings in Henry VIII’s court, revealing in thrilling prose how politics and history is made by men and women.

“In the words of Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell, whose story this is, “the fate of peoples is made like this, two men in small rooms. Forget the coronations, the conclaves of cardinals, the pomp and processions. This is how the world changes.”

Others shortlisted for the prize included A.S. Byatt, Sarah Waters, and J.M. Coetzee. Mantel worked on the novel for fives years. She is currently writing a sequel.