iUniverse.com - The Web's Best Place for Writers Who Have Been or Want to Be Publishe.. Page 1 of 5

Content Customized. On D e m a n d , On Any Piatferr

IUn(verse,ciiin Open the door,for p-. Book Search

Location: Home: Communities: News & Articles:

Title PI ___ _.. =S

"Ilia Shopping Cart

CommunitiesRead and submitarticles, chat,publish and marketyour book. Join oneof 632 Communitiestoday!

FeaturedCommunity:Cosmetics - Arethey worth therisk? - Judi Vance,iUniverse.comauthor of Beauty toDie For - TheCosmeticConsequence ,hosts thiscommunity onhealth issuesrelating to cosmeticuse. Her book andexpertise come tolight on Canada'sDiscovery Channelthis November in afour-part series,"Hope and Beauty:The Story ofCosmetics."

Join a Communityor create yourown!

Discuss writing,publishing and

Bridget Jones from the Airport

M"Jones

by Elizabeth Michaelson

Number of bestsellerswritten 2 (v. good)number of peopleasking for my opinionshundreds (am dearlyvoice of wisdom)number of suitcasemishaps 2 (so far) ...Apossible entry toBridget Jones'American diary.

Since her self-titleddebut in Bridget Jones'Diary, readers on bothsides of the Atlantichave been enthralledby the adventures ofLondon's most famoussingleton. In thesequel, Bridget Jones:The Edge of Reason,our erstwhile heroineis in a functionalrelationship with anadult male—but can itlast? As Bridget's mummight say, "Durr!"

Bridget's capacity for

on Tour with Bridget

Helen FieldingPhoto © Piers Fletcher

"I started off thetour picking up thewrong suitcase atthe airport. I wassupposed to be on

TV first thing inthe morning, andall I had was thisman's clothes!"

Stoiy.ToiirBook

News & ArticlesReuters Book NewsPublishing NewsFeaturesColumnsTips & How.- toInterviews• "Juicy Tomatoes"

ready for launch

• Interview with theauthor of Wheel ofDesire

• Biography of aVietnam WarPhotograph

• Medium with aMessage

• Stones from Homeand the Road

Gossip & RumorOpinionChat TranscriptsExcerptsBook ReviewsNewslettersIndustry

http://.../content.asp?id=2746&cid=7&headline=Bridget%20Jones%20from%20the%20Airpor 11/28/00

iUniverse.com - The Web's Best Place for Writers Who Have Been or Want to Be Publishe.. Page 2 of 5

marketing on ourMessage Boards

Author ToolkitJob BoardAuthorjyentsCalendarFreelance .BookProfessionalsIndustryiLnks

Get InvolvedJoin a CommunityCreate a .Corn m unityMessage BoardCalendarChat. RoomHoroscope & Poll

Bridget's capacity forself-analysis ("feel B nmarvelous, rather like -Helen FieldingPosh Spice or similarradiant newlywed posing with sucked-in cheeks andlipgloss while everyone imagines her in bed withDavid Beckham"), longing ("rude thoughts aboutPrince William 22, no. of times wrote 'Prince Williamand his lovely date Miss Bridget Jones at Ascot' onHello! magazine 7") and self-delusion ("can definitelylose 3 Ibs. before tomorrow using hospital frankfurterdiet...frankfurters 12") remains unabated. Hurrah!

Bridget's alter ego, novelist Helen Fielding, is inAmerica to promote her bestseller. Just off the planein Houston, she chats from her cell phone as she iswhisked off to her hotel.

Suitcase Full of Men's Clothes

IndustryNewslettersPress Releases

Writers UniversityEditorialPublicity

Product ReviewsCreative Nonfiction

Fictioni &...PoetryEducation

News & ArticleSearch

One might be forgiven for mistaking Fielding for hercharacter: she's easy to talk to and, er, prone toaccidents. While struggling with her seatbelt, Fieldingexplains: "I just came out the airport, and as I cametowards the automatic doors, they closed on mysuitcase!" This is no isolated incident, either: "Istarted off the tour picking up the wrong suitcase atthe airport. I was supposed to be on TV first thing inthe morning, and all I had was this man's clothes!"

Bridget is a star, even "the spirit of the age,"according to one reviewer. One of the corollaries ofFielding's success is the flood of imitators her novelhas spawned. Does she get tired of watching otherstrail her to the bestseller list? She demurs: "I like itvery much when they put a blurb on the cover." Sheintones, "This is the gay, teenage, non-smokingBridget Jones'... I find that very flattering." DoesFielding ever tire of Bridget?

unuye

"Bridget Jones:The Edge of

Reason"

"I like it verymuch whenthey put a

blurb on thecover/' says

"The only time I really hatedBridget was one year shegot thirteen Valentines and

I only got one," Fieldingsays judiciously. "It washorrible. But usually I'mquite fond of her. I'd beentrying to be a writer for avery long time, so I'd haveto be quite spoilt to notthink this was great."

As for being identified withher hapless heroine, whodoesn't know whereGermany is, the Oxford-educated Fielding isequivocal. "The good thing

http://.../content.asp?id=2746&cid-7&headline=Bridget%20Jones%20from%20the%20Airpor 11/28/00

iUniverse.com - The Web's Best Place for Writers Who Have Been or Want to Be Publishe.. Page 3 of 5

cover," saysabout being Bridget is that if

Fielding Of the something does go wrong,

Bridget Jones like 19et the Wron9_ . _ suitcase, people just laugh,"

imitators. she explains. "So it's not

'"This is the 'ike Ilm Promotin9 a self~help book. That would be

gay, teenage, embarrassing!" She giggles:

non-smoking "Kd Probably be banned!"

Bridget vogue as Social ControlJones'... I find To°'

that very A mjx Qf S|apstjck and

flattering." realism, the new diariesprovoke not just guffaws but

empathy. One of the novels' most affecting—andrecognizable—features is Bridget's reliance onmagazines for her concept of happiness. WhenBridget sighs: "Attracted yet massively underminedby Vogue world of Christmas. Realize own fashionlook and gift ideas outdated and ought to be cycling,wearing slippy Dosa petticoat with eiderdown on topand puppy slung over shoulder, posing at parties withprepubescent model daughter," the reader relates.Bridget's credulity is part of the novel's humor, buther faith in advertising also satirizes the media'smanipulation of women's expectations. Fieldingagrees: "It's central to why people relate to her: Ithink we don't realize how affected we are byadverts. Everyone has this idea that they're supposedto be the girl in the twenty-four-hour mascara, theanorexic teenage model who runs from the gym tothe board meeting, then home to be with herhusband and kids.

"Bridget thinks she's going to end up with Brad Pittloading the dishwasher, naked, feeding her icecream," says Fielding. "But in a relationship, youhave to let the other person know who you are, andnot pretend to be something out of an advertisement.I think that's why a lot of people like Bridget:because she's not a superwoman."

Fielding may deny that she's a superwoman, but sofar she's had two successful careers. She grew up inthe northern city of Leeds, and, after college, workedfor the British Broadcasting Corporation in Bristol."Initially, I worked on a light, end-of-the-day currentaffairs program. That was quite funny because it wasan agricultural area, so you were constantly endingup with a flock of sheep in the studio and a farmer'swife who'd had her hair done. They'd wait 'til theshow was on the air and then say, 'Sorry, Helen,we're dropping you!' So you're left with sheep and ahairdoe'd, distraught farmer's wife."

Subversive Use of Grammar

http://.../content.asp?id-2746&cid=7&headline=Bridget%20Jones%20from%20the%20Airpor 11/28/00

iUniverse.com - The Web's Best Place for Writers Who Have Been or Want to Be Publishe.. Page 4 of 5

In the LAte 1980s, Fielding went to Africa to make aseries of documentaries, an experience whichinspired her first novel, Cause Celeb. As television'scharms waned, "I thought I'd try to get intonewspapers. Changing careers wasn't easy, which isone of the reasons why it's so great now, though itwasn't the way I was expecting it to happen,"Fielding admits. Her perseverance paid off andeventually she started writing for the Sunday Times,the doyenne of all Sunday papers.

When The Independent "People are SOnewspaper asked her towrite a regular column healthy in L.A.;about her life, Fielding Sf you ask to

instead suggested writing asa character from a sitcom light ashe'd been attempting to cigarette it'sdevelop. Soon readers weredevouring excerpts from like you'veJones's "diary." asked tQ

Bridget's trademark literary urinate onstyle-e.g. her aversion to someone!"accepted grammar in theform of completesentences—actually started —Fieldingas an effort to outfox her editors. "They always makeyou cut your copy down to 950 words so I did it bycutting out words rather than whole paragraphs," shereveals. "Also [the satirical magazine] Private Eye ranthis column called something like 'Self Obsession',where they counted the number of times columnistsput the word T in their columns. So I decided, Tilnever put T, and then I'll never be in that column.'"

From her first appearance, Bridget's voice—authentic,if full of gags—fooled some readers. "I did the Thaiepisode [where Bridget ends up in a Thai jail, thestooge of a drug runner she meets on holiday] whenit was a column. And we actually got a call from thegovernment, saying, 'Look here, we're doing a lot toget this girl out!' I think," Fielding adds helpfully,"That was before some people realized she wasn't areal person." Fielding expanded the columns into anovel, and, a contemporary Cinderella, the Diary'spaperback edition was a huge hit. Fielding sold thefilm rights, and now Bridget's the subject of a biopic.

-Dealing with a Fat-Free, Nonsmoking LA

Since the announcement that the beautiful ReneeZellweger (One True Thing) will play Bridget,speculation on which actor will fill Mark Darcy's wingtips has been rampant. Fielding pines for the Mr.Darcy nearest to Bridget's heart: "I hope it'll be ColinFirth." Firth, of course, played a different Mr. Darcy inthe BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice. The actor

http://.../content.asp?id=2746&cid=7&headline=Bridget%20Jones%20from%20the%20Aiipor 11/28/00

iUniverse.com - The Web's Best Place for Writers Who Have Been or Want to Be Publishe.. Page 5 of 5

himself makes a guest appearance in The Edge ofReason. "It would be very postmodern," Fieldingobserves.

As befits a celebrity, Fielding now spends half of hertime in Los Angeles, where the lifestyle is a constantsource of amusement: "It's fantastic! If you orderanything that's the slightest bit fattening they say,'You know that contains dairy,' as if you ordered polarbear!" But LA. residents are no more immune toBridget's charms than people in cities with fewerpersonal trainers: "The book did very well in LA.,though I thought it wouldn't. But it just shows you,it's like an antidote to asceticism." She sniggers,

"People are so healthy in LA. If you ask if you canlight a cigarette, it's like you've asked to urinate onsomeone!"

Despite her exhausting schedule, Fielding has foundthe time to make notes for a new novel: "I'm notsure what form the new novel will take. I was goingto start writing, but I can't really help myself,especially in LA., it's so hilarious." Her next novel willnot feature her celebrated diarist, but Fielding hasn'truled out another sequel. As her car pulls up to thehotel, there is a sudden silence. "I just found out ourhotel is connected to a shop," Fielding announces,awed. Is she in Texas? Another pause. Then,doubtfully: "I think so; we're in Houston." As shesays goodbye, she breathes, "It's so great: we'regoing to be staying in a shop." Which sounded veryBridget-like, in the best possible way.

Elizabeth Michaelson graduated from BarnardCollege in '96 and City University, London'sjournalism program in '99. She is a reporter for aweekly paper and lives in New York City.

Privacy and Safe Shopping | About Us | Employment | Press | Contact Us | Copyright & Terms of Service

http://.../content.asp?id=2746&cid=7&headline=Bridget%20Jones%20from%20the%20Aiipor 11/28/00