Alice O’Keeffe, chair of the judges and books editor of the Bookseller, explained the judging panel’s decision, saying: “It was a really difficult decision and we went back and forth for a good while, but after much discussion, we felt that Sally Rooney is such a major talent and that her ‘difficult second novel’ was just as impressive as her debut was astonishing.

“She has been described as a millennial writer with millennial concerns, but I know readers in their seventies who loved Normal People. The passion that came through on the grassroots for this book is really something.”

And Rooney wasn’t the only big winner of the night.

Michelle Obama, whose memoir Becoming is now the best-selling autobiography and audiobook of all time, picked up the award for Best Narrative Non-Fiction.

“This is an incredible honour,” she said in a video message. “It’s been such an uplifting and powerful experience to share my story with everyone across the United Kingdom these past few months. I especially loved the opportunity to connect with so many bright young women, like the incredible students at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Mulberry schools in London, whose stories reminded me so much of my own.”

Sally Rooney, Michelle Obama and Leila Slimani OWNED the British Book Awards