Bridget Jones's Diary
First edition
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| Author | Helen Fielding |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Nick Turpin |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Comedy novel, Chick lit |
| Publisher | Picador |
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Publication date
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1996 novel |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 38884462 |
| 823/.914 21 | |
| LC Class | PR6056.I4588 B75 1998 |
| Followed by | Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason |
Bridget Jones's Diary is a 1996 novel by Helen Fielding. Written in the form of a personal diary, the novel chronicles a year in the life of Bridget Jones, a thirty-something single working woman living in London. She writes about her career, self-image, vices, family, friends, and romantic relationships.
By 2006, the book had sold over two million copies worldwide. Critics have credited Fielding's novel as the "ur-text" of the contemporary chick lit movement. A sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, was published in 1999. Another sequel, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, came out in 2013.
Bridget not only obsesses about her love life, but also details her various daily struggles with her weight, her over-indulgence in alcohol and cigarettes, and her career. Bridget's friends and family are the supporting characters in her diary. These friends are there for her unconditionally throughout the novel; they give her advice about her relationships, and support when problems arise. Her friends are essentially her surrogate family in London. Bridget's parents live outside of the city, and while they play a lesser role than her friends, they are important figures in Bridget's life. Her mother is an overconfident, doting woman who is constantly trying to marry Bridget off to a rich, handsome man; and her father is considerably more down-to-earth, though he is sometimes driven into uncharacteristically unstable states of mind by his wife. Bridget often visits her parents, as well as her parents' friends, primarily Geoffrey and Una Alconbury; Geoffrey creates a mildly uncomfortable situation for Bridget by insisting she call him "Uncle Geoffrey" despite his propensity for groping her rear end whenever they meet. In these situations, Bridget is often plagued with that perennial question "How's your love life?" and exposed to the eccentricities of middle class British society, manifested in turkey curry buffets and tarts and vicars parties at which the women wear sexually provocative ("tart") costumes, while the men dress as Anglican priests ("vicars"). The novel is based on Pride and Prejudice.
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