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Eligible
Curtis Sittenfeld
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER‘The book of the summer’ The Times'Sheer joy… Giddy and glam and a hearty update of Pride and Prejudice’ Jessie Burton, author of The MiniaturistThe Bennet sisters have been summoned from New York City.Liz and Jane are good daughters. They’ve come home to suburban Cincinnati to get their mother to stop feeding their father steak as he recovers from heart surgery, to tidy up the crumbling Tudor-style family home, and to wrench their three sisters from their various states of arrested development.Once they are under the same roof, old patterns return fast. Soon enough they are being berated for their single status, their only respite the early morning runs they escape on together. For two successful women in their late thirties, it really is too much to bear. That is, until the Lucas family’s BBQ throws them in the way of some eligible single men . . .Chip Bingley is not only a charming doctor, he’s a reality TV star too. But Chip's friend, haughty neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy, can barely stomach Cincinnati or its inhabitants. Jane is entranced by Chip; Liz, sceptical of Darcy. As Liz is consumed by her father’s mounting medical bills, her wayward sisters and Cousin Willie trying to stick his tongue down her throat, it isn’t only the local chilli that will leave a bad aftertaste.But where there are hearts that beat and mothers that push, the mysterious course of love will resolve itself in the most entertaining and unlikely of ways. And from the hand of Curtis Sittenfeld, Pride & Prejudice is catapulted into our modern world singing out with hilarity and truth.
Copyright (#ulink_6fa5bf25-502b-56a7-9de9-191c9f90d3bb)
The Borough Press
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2016
Copyright © Curtis Sittenfeld 2016
Cover design by Claire Ward © HarperCollinsPublishers 2016
Cover photographs © Nina Masic/Trevillion Image
Curtis Sittenfeld asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780007486311
Ebook Edition © April 2016 ISBN: 9780007486304
Version: 2017-03-13
Praise for Eligible: (#ulink_686df763-db53-5058-8e30-e543fd215860)
‘These days, if Curtis Sittenfeld writes it, I read it’
JUDY BLUME
‘A masterpiece … I found Eligible so relevant and relatable. Whether or not you’re an Austen fan, you’ll adore this version: This is Pride and Prejudice 2.0 and I must confess, I liked it more than the original. There I said it’
Stylist
‘Bold and brilliant … Sittenfeld’s prose is so witty and sparkling that she keeps you entranced from first page to last’
Glamour
‘Eligible has all the charm, wit and romance of Pride and Prejudice and also takes these characters who are such a stalwart feature of our literary landscape and treats them with such affection and humour, that I defy anyone not to find Eligible an absolute delight’
Red
‘Dazzling’
Woman and Home
‘Fizzy [and] funny’
Psychologies
‘Such a feast of a book’
NIGELLA LAWSON
‘Not since Clueless, which transported Emma to Beverly Hills, has Austen been so delightedly interpreted … three cheers for Curtis Sittenfeld and her astute, sharp and ebullient anthropological interest in the human condition’
New York Times
‘An enjoyably light-hearted romp’
Financial Times
‘Hilarious and endearing family drama’
Kirkus Reviews
‘Effortlessly entertaining and delightfully readable’
National
‘A delightful romp for not only Austen devotees but also lovers of romantic comedies and sly satire, as well … bestselling Sittenfeld plus Jane Austen? What more could mainstream fiction readers ask for?’
Booklist
‘Sittenfeld adeptly updates and channels Austen’s narrative voice – the book is full of smart observations on gender and money … a clever retelling of an old-fashioned favourite’
Publishers Weekly
‘This sexy retake also deals with contemporary issues, such as transgender and racism … an enjoyable romp’
Daily Express
‘The whole confection is riotously entertaining, and can be wolfed down in a handful of sittings’
Daily Mail
‘Curtis Sittenfeld is brilliant. She’s very honest about relationships and the unspoken stuff that goes on between people. She’s a very good student of human nature’
MARIAN KEYES
‘Eligible is a wickedly funny retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice with plenty of modern twists’
Good Housekeeping
‘Sittenfeld is triumphant in her modern take on Austen … the story has a great pace and witty, wry, spot-on social observations’
Grazia
‘Eligible is funny, clever and really rather sweet’
Heat
‘[A] clever, witty novel’
Hello!
‘A sharp, satirical book with literary cred’
The Times
‘A magnificent read’
Independent
‘Clever, funny and terrifically entertaining’
Sunday Times
‘Eligible is inventively and mischievously done’
Literary Review
‘Deliciously readable’
Mail on Sunday
‘Sittenfeld pulls off the modernization splendidly … brimming with feminist life lessons’
Porter
‘Sittenfeld proves once again that when it comes to dialogue, she reigns supreme’
Readers Digest
‘It is a testament to her sharp dialogue and astute observations that the novel works both as an updating of a classic and a satisfying story in its own right. Austen would approve’
Sunday Express
‘Familiar, yet surprising – and full of acerbic wit’
Sunday Mirror
‘A sweet, touching and human story’
Sunday Times
‘Sizzling sexual tension makes for the perfect poolside indulgence’
Mail on Sunday
‘Pitch-perfect … a pure joy from the very first page’
ATTICA LOCKE
‘Unwholesomely addictive … compulsively readable’
Spectator
‘With […] deft wit and clear-eyed compassion she tackles new social dilemmas’
The Times
‘If there exists a more perfect pairing than Curtis Sittenfeld and Jane Austen, we dare you to find it … Sittenfeld makes an already irresistible story even more beguiling and charming’
Elle
Dedication (#ulink_5744f41b-044b-5be5-952b-d4dbbdb79755)
For Samuel Park,
Austen devotee and beloved friend
Epigraph (#ulink_34ff4fc0-2a2c-5a3c-a85e-9d070aee9c4f)
When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it’s always twenty years behind the times.
—MARK TWAIN
Contents
Cover (#ubaa370c5-3f56-521d-8696-568e508ddc84)
Title Page (#u8ca4b787-9e55-5305-bd71-3db1eec4a182)
Copyright (#u1bef1ca4-08b0-5f86-b667-86f29e2a40b2)
