It seems there has been a publisher’s bidding war for yet another Austen-inspired novel to be released in 2012. Hodder acquired the rights to what reads like a Jane Austen marriage guide – indeed the title is The Jane Austen Marriage Manual, by Kim Izzo:
From Bookseller.com:
15.03.11 | Katie Allen
Hodder has acquired a chick lit novel about a heroine who uses the novels of Jane Austen to help her find a rich husband.
Women’s fiction editor Isobel Akenhead acquired British Commonwealth excluding Canada rights in a “heated” auction from Diana Beaumont at Rupert Heath Literary Agency to The Jane Austen Marriage Manual by Kim Izzo. Jennifer Lambert at HarperCollins acquired Canadian rights in a pre-empt, while Brenda Copeland of St Martin’s Press acquired US rights. Gráinne Fox at Fletcher & Company handled the US and Canada rights for Beaumont, the main agent.
The novel follows Kate, the beauty editor at a fashion magazine, who finds herself unemployed, single, homeless and about to turn 40. When she is asked to write a freelance article about whether it is possible to marry for money, she decides to use the novels of Jane Austen to find herself an eligible match.
Akenhead said “It is brilliantly written, laugh-out-loud funny and has the most unforgettable heroine, and I feel confident it will appeal to fans of chick-lit favourites such as Bridget Jones’s Diary and Alexandra Potter’s Me and Mr Darcy, not to mention all the ‘Janeites’ out there.”
Hodder will publish in 2012.
You can follow the author Kim Izzo on Twitter here.
Alas! no cover yet…
[Image: from ‘The Chick-Lit Pandemic’, NY Times, by A. Richard Allen, 2006]
Jane Austen in Vermont 