New Delhi: In a move which will cheer hundreds of thousands of his fans, Vikram Seth, among the most widely admired writers in the world today, has announced that he is writing the long-awaited sequel to his much-loved million-copy bestseller A Suitable Boy.
A Suitable Girl will be published by Penguin in Autumn 2013.
A Suitable Boy was set against the backdrop of newly-independent India and followed the lives of four families across several cities, as the central character Lata's mother searched for a suitable groom for her. In A Suitable Girl, Vikram Seth will bring the narrative up to the present day, encompassing some of the enormous social and economic changes India has undergone in the last sixty years.
Lata, the sparky and rebellious heroine of A Suitable Boy, is now a grandmother, and her grandson is the one in search of a good match.
Penguin's prestigious Hamish Hamilton imprint (to be launched in India this July) has bought world English language rights (excluding the USA) from Vikram Seth's agent, David Godwin.
2013 marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of A Suitable Boy, which was a worldwide sensation. The 1,350 page book sold over a quarter of a million copies in hardback and over a million copies in paperback. In 2013, Penguin will put the book into its distinguished Modern Classics list.
In the intervening years, Penguin will also publish a new volume of Vikram Seth's poems and a new book of essays.
After announcing the new book, Vikram Seth said, "In India, all my books have for years been published by Penguin. But I am very happy today to be joining foreign colonies of the Flightless One. They have already made me feel very welcome, and I hope in time to hatch many suitable eggs with them."
Publishing Director of Hamish Hamilton UK, Simon Prosser, stated, "Since I first read The Golden Gate I have been a devoted follower of Vikram's writing. I cannot believe my good fortune in being able to work with Vikram on his next few books, including the sequel to the extraordinary A Suitable Boy."
Publisher of Penguin India, Ravi Singh, said, "Few writers anywhere inspire as much respect, excitement and affection among readers as Vikram Seth. His magnificent novel A Suitable Boy - memorably described as a "long, sweet pilgrimage to life" - was in many ways a defining work of contemporary Indian writing. It was also a defining book for Penguin India, and it will be a huge honour to publish Vikram again, with A Suitable Girl - easily among the most eagerly awaited sequels ever - as well as new collections of his poems and essays."
CEO and President of Penguin India, Mike Bryan, added, "A Suitable Boy has been a landmark in Penguin India's publishing history and I'm delighted that we will be publishing its sequel in its twentieth year."
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