It was fourth time lucky for British writer Julian Barnes, who has won literature's Booker Prize after a contest that had as many insults, rivalries and bitter accusations as a paperback potboiler.
Barnes, a finalist on three previous occasions who once described the contest as "posh bingo", finally triumphed with The Sense of an Ending, a memory-haunted novel about a 60-something man forced to confront buried truths about his past after the unexpected arrival of a letter.
Former British spy chief Stella Rimington, who chaired the judging panel, said the 150-page novel "spoke to the humankind in the 21st century".
"I'm as much relieved as I am delighted to receive the 2011 Booker Prize," he said on Tuesday.
Barnes had been the strong favourite to win STG50,000 ($A78,057) award, attracting half of all bets laid through bookmaker William Hill.
He beat five other finalists. Three were British - Stephen Kelman for Pigeon English, AD Miller for Snowdrops and Carol Birch for Jamrach's Menagerie. Two Canadian novels rounded out the shortlist: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt and Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan.
One of the English-speaking world's most high-profile literary prizes, the Booker is open to writers from Britain, Ireland and the 54-nation Commonwealth or former British colonies. Founded in 1969, it is officially called the Man Booker Prize after its sponsor, financial services conglomerate Man Group PLC.
It always attracts colourful commentary and controversy, but this year's has been particularly combative, with critics accusing the five judges of dumbing-down after Rimington said the finalists had been chosen for readability.
The shortlist drew criticism for excluding some of the year's most critically lauded books, including On Canaan's Side by Ireland's Sebastian Barry and The Stranger's Child by Britain's Alan Hollinghurst.
And a group of writers, publishers and agents announced it was setting up a rival award that hopes to supplant the Booker as English literature's premier prize.
Literary agent Andrew Kidd, spokesman for the new Literature Prize, said the goal was to create an award "where the single criterion is excellence rather than other factors".
The new prize will be open to any English-language writer whose work has been published in Britain - unlike the Booker, which does not allow American entrants.