2007 Nobel Prize
in Literature
British novelist
Doris Lessing won the 2007 Nobel Prize for a body of
work that delved into human relationships and inspired a generation of feminist
writers, the
The academy, which
awards the prestigious 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.54 million) prize, called
87-year-old Lessing an "epicist
of the female experience, who with skepticism, fire and visionary power has
subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny."
She was the 34th
woman to win a Nobel and the 11th to take the literature award. The awards
began in 1901.
"We're
absolutely delighted and it's very well-deserved, of course," Lessing's long-time agent Jonathan Clowes
said in a statement read to Reuters.
Lessing debuted as a novelist with "The Grass is
Singing" in 1950, a book that examined the relationship between a white
farmer's wife and her black servant.
Her 1962 novel
"The Golden Notebook" was widely considered her breakthrough work.
"The burgeoning
feminist movement saw it as a pioneering work and it belongs to the handful of
books that informed the 20th century view of the male-female
relationship," the academy said.
She was born to
British parents in what was then known as
This was the fourth
of this year's crop of Nobel prizes, handed out annually for achievements in
science, literature, economics and peace.
(Source: