08. 09. 10. - 15:00

Man Booker Prize nominee 'triggered' by Fritzl case

A novel inspired by the tragic story of Elisabeth Fritzl has made the shortlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize.

Irish writer Emma Donoghue said today (Weds) her new book "Room" was "triggered" by Elisabeth Fritzl’s experiences.

The Austrian was jailed in a cellar dungeon in Amstetten by her own father Josef Fritzl for 24 years until 2008. The 43-year-old gave birth to six children in the underground prison. "Dungeon dad" Fritzl was sentenced to life last year.

The 50,000 GBP Man Booker Prize has been awarded each year since 1969 for the best full-length novel written in English by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe.

"Room" tells the story of a young woman imprisoned in a garden shed in the United States. The story is told by her five-year-old son who is told by his mum that the tiny room they are forced to live in is the whole world before she eventually explains the truth to him.

Donoghue explained: "The newspaper reports of Felix Fritzl (who was born in the cellar prison), aged five, emerging into a world he didn't know about, put the idea into my head."

The gripping novel also evokes memories of kidnapped American Jaycee Dugard and Austrian "cellar girl" Natascha Kampusch.

Donoghue, 40, was born in Ireland but lives in Canada with her two children and her female partner Chris Roulston.

The shortlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize also features works by Andrea Levy, Damon Galgut, Howard Jacobson, Peter Carey and Tom McCarthy.

The award’s jury will announce the winner on 12 October.