Hilary Mantel's novel Wolf Hall, about Henry VIII's adviser Thomas Cromwell, won Britain's prestigious Man Booker prize at a London ceremony tonight. Mantel was heavily favored — a prominent London bookie gave her 10 to 11 odds, the shortest-ever odds for a nominee — and beat out previous winners A.S. Byatt and J.M. Coetzee, dashing Coetzee's hopes for a Booker hat trick. In your face, J.M.!

Hilary Mantel Wins the Man Booker Prize [ArtsBeat/NYT]