The Duchess of Cornwall put on a stylish display as she interviewed author Douglas Stuart about his ‘life-changing year’ after winning the Booker Prize with debut novel Shuggie Bain.
Camilla, 74, unveiled her inner rock chick in a pink leopard print blouse and trouser suit as spoke with the Scottish author, who won the prize in 2020 with Shuggie Bain, during an interview that was broadcast during the ceremony for this year’s award.
Shuggie Bain, which is based on Stuart’s own childhood, is set in Glasgow in the 1980s and tells the story of a young boy growing up with a mother who is battling addiction.
The novel is dedicated to the Stuart’s mother, who died following an alcohol addiction when he was 16.
Speaking about his win, the author, 44, said: ‘It’s utterly transformed my life, from winning the Booker to being here with yourself and being in the beautiful Clarence House. I couldn’t have imagined any of it.’
The Duchess of Cornwall put on a stylish display as she interviewed author Douglas Stuart about his ‘life-changing year’ after winning the Booker Prize with debut novel Shuggie Bain
Stuart said he did not tell anyone when he began writing Shuggie Bain.
‘I was trying to write it because I wanted it to be an incredibly personal project and I was thinking very much about the Glasgow I grew up in and my own mother and my own family,’ he said.
He added: ‘Oftentimes mother stories and young queer men in very masculine places are often invisible and so Shuggie for me became a very personal document in that way, to say we were always here, we are also on this landscape.’
During the interview, he also told Camilla that he ‘couldn’t even tell you how important the library was in my childhood.’
‘It was just a very safe space,’ he added. ‘It was a tranquil space and it was a place you could go to sort of shut out the world.
‘Libraries are crucial because children need an awful lot of peace in their environment to be able to focus on a book but also peace within themselves and libraries are one of the few places that will allow them to have those moments of respite or just to shut out the world and enjoy a book.’
Shuggie Bain, which is based on Stuart’s own childhood, is set in Glasgow in the 1980s and tells the story of a young boy growing up with a mother who is battling addiction
The writer is the second-ever Scot to win the £50,000 award after James Kelman scooped the prize for How Late It Was, How Late in 1994.
Stuart was born and raised in Glasgow before moving to New York to pursue a career in fashion design at 24, working for brands including Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Gap.
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He began writing in his spare time a decade ago, and his short stories have since appeared in the New Yorker.
The author explores poverty, tough upbringings and alcoholism in his book
He was announced as the winner in a virtual ceremony last year which featured contributions from former US president Barack Obama and the Duchess of Cornwall.
The author said his Man Booker win meant he could abandon his career in the fashion industry and dedicate himself to writing.
At the time, Margaret Busby, chair of the judging panel who voted unanimously to celebrate Stuart’s book, described Shuggie Bain as ‘daring, frightening and life-changing’.
She added: ‘The heart-wrenching story tells of the unconditional love between Agnes Bain – set on a descent into alcoholism by the tough circumstances life has dealt her – and her youngest son.
‘Shuggie struggles with responsibilities beyond his years to save his mother from herself, at the same time as dealing with burgeoning feelings and questions about his own otherness.
‘Gracefully and powerfully written, this is a novel that has impact because of its many emotional registers and its compassionately realised characters.
This year’s prize has gone to Damon Galgut’s novel The Promise (pictured)
‘The poetry in Douglas Stuart’s descriptions and the precision of his observations stand out: nothing is wasted.’
The author explores poverty, tough upbringings and alcoholism in his book, which Busby added is ‘destined to be a classic’.
This year’s prize has gone to Damon Galgut’s novel The Promise.
The Promise is set in Pretoria, where the author grew up, and takes place against the backdrop of South Africa’s transition out of apartheid.
The book tells the story of the declining Swart family, who are white farmers, through a series of four funerals.
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