The judges, who included authors Jenny Colgan and Amanda Craig, were full of praise for her writing.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Levy takes Whitbread novel prize

For the Times newspaper's children's book critic Amanda Craig, there's also a "streak of rather unpleasant misogyny".

BBC: Roald Dahl and the darkness within

The book was last made into a movie in 2006 and Amanda Craig, children's book critic for The Times, told BBC News that it has been massively influential for generations.

BBC: Badgers: Splitting public opinion for more than 200 years