Helen Fielding – the British writer whose wildly popular newspaper column depicting a 30-something single woman living in London in the 1990s became a worldwide sensation in the guise of Bridget Jones – has written a new novel featuring her iconic protagonist. BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY will be published by Knopf on October 15 with a first printing of 250,000 copies (the novel will also be published as an eBook, a Random House Audiobook and with Vintage Espanol as Bridget Jones, Loca por él). The announcement was made today by Sonny Mehta, Knopf Chairman and Editor-in-Chief.
When asked which boy Bridget was mad about, Fielding merely raised one eyebrow enigmatically.
Fielding’s first book, Bridget Jones’s Diary, was an international bestseller and global phenomenon when it was originally published in 1996. It was followed in 1999 by a sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Together, the novels sold more than 15 million copies and were published in 40 different countries, and both were adapted into blockbuster films starring Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant, and Colin Firth.
“I’ve been catching up with Bridget Jones over the past few weeks,” said Mehta, “and I’m thrilled to report she’s back and in familiar fettle.” BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY represents a totally new phase in Bridget’s life, as Fielding has indicated when she said “Bridget’s life has moved on.” But, the question is, just how much? Here is what we can share: the novel is set in present-day London; Bridget is older; she is still keeping a diary, but she is also immersed in texting and experimenting with social media, with an accent on “social.”
“Bridget is one of the most memorable protagonists in modern literature,” continued Mehta, “and with the publication of this new novel, she will resume her role as a modern Everywoman for readers around the world.”
In anticipation of the book’s official publication in October, Fielding will be a breakfast speaker June 1 at BookExpo America, the annual booksellers convention that is being held in New York. Follow #BridgetJones for updates.
Excerpt from MAD ABOUT THE BOY:
Wednesday 24 October 2012
11.27 p.m. Just presss d SEND. Iss fineisn’t it?
You see, this is the trouble with the modern world. If it was the days of letter-writing, I would never even have started to find his address, a pen, a piece of paper, an envelope, a stamp, and gone outside at 11.30p.m. to find a postbox. A text is gone at the brush of a fingertip, like a nuclear bomb or exocet missile.
DATING RULE NO:1
DO NOT TEXT WHEN DRUNK
PRAISE FOR MAD ABOUT THE BOY:
“How can a reader not love this woman?” -The New York Times
“Fielding is a wonderful comic novelist.” -Time
“One of the most enchanting heroines to ever overdraw her bank account.” -USA Today
“A brilliant comic creation. Even men will laugh.”-Salman Rushdie
“Bridget Jones is a joy and a comfort, and Helen Fielding is bloody great.” -Mademoiselle
“Helen Fielding is one of the funniest writers alive and Bridget Jones is a creation of comic genius.”-Nick Hornby