To say that The Testaments, Margaret Atwood's sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, is keenly anticipated is like saying Ben Stokes played a rather useful innings for England. The novel was only published on Tuesday, yet it is already hot favourite to win the Booker Prize.

This is one of the most significant sequels in publishing history. There are nuclear submarines whose whereabouts are less closely guarded than advance copies of The Testaments. (It made headlines around the world when the embargo was broken prematurely after Amazon delivered pre-ordered copies early.) Publication day saw the 79-year-old author holding court in a sold-out event at the National Theatre in London, which was broadcast live to 1300 cinemas from Malta to Atwood's native Canada.

The Telegraph London