Andrea Levy takes Whitbread Prize for her novel Small Island just months after the the Orange Prize for Fiction

Andrea Levy's Small Island takes Whitbread Prize resulting in double victory

British writer Andrea Levy has been a great success like every creator would dream about. The 48-year-old author has performed a double literary victory for her novel Small Island as winning the Whitbread Book of the Year prize just months after receiving the Orange Prize for Fiction.

The London author based her book on the life story of a former soldier from Jamaica who immigrated to the post-Colonial Britain. The plot is likely to reflect the perception of Andrea Levy who also was born on a north London council estate to Jamaican parents who arrived in 1948.

Andrea was the youngest of four children in her family while growing up as a black woman in north London.  She managed to make a good career while working at the BBC and at the Royal Opera House before starting to write in her 30s. However, her books are full of true feelings and experiences that are common for all immigrants. Small Island, the forth book by Andrea Levy, has two main characters, Gilbert and Hortence, who are named after Andrea’s parents.

Unlike the author, Small Island, however, hasn’t surprised its readers. According to Reuters bookmakers installed Andrea Levy as hot favourite to win the Whitbread Book prize. On Monday betting company William Hill released the 5/4 odds on Andrea’s book following the biography "My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots" by John Guy. However, the difference in the odds was not massive.

"The betting suggests that the outcome of the Whitbread is a two-horse race with Andrea Levy leading the way into the final furlong being hotly pursued by John Guy," said a William Hill spokesman to Reuters.

The other five finalists competing for the 25,000-pound Whitbread Prize have also won their respective categories - First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book.