It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Unless, of course, he's gay. Or has a girlfriend. Or is neck deep in twice weekly sychoanalysis and entirely unfit for public interaction.
How does the modern day heroine find her way in a dating world where the rules change faster than she can update her status on Facebook, and there's not a single Georgian ballroom, empire-line dress or pantalooned man in sight?
Intrepid former dater and award-winning journalist Amanda Hooton turns to the ageless wisdom of Jane Austen to solve the eternal dilemmas of romance: how to be as clever as Elizabeth Bennet, as dignified as Elinor Dashwood and as confident as Emma Woodhouse; how to avoid shagging Mr Wickham, marrying Mr Collins, or being dumped by Willoughby; and most importantly of all, how to find Mr Darcy, grapple him to your soul with hoops of steel, and become the part-owner of a country estate in Derbyshire.
If you've ever wondered why your love life doesn't more closely resemble a Jane Austen novel, this is the book for you. Charming, laugh-out-loud hilarious and entirely empathetic, Finding Mr Darcy is a witty, street smart and, above all, wise approach to modern dating, which proves that some things – especially the pursuit of love – really are timeless.
Amanda Hooton was born and brought up in Western Australia. At nineteen, she moved to Scotland to attend St Andrews university, where she lived at the same college as Prince William (some years, alas, before he arrived). Having studied the great career-oriented degree of Medieval History and English, she used her extensive knowledge of King Arthur and the knights of the round table to secure two weeks' work experience at The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh, and spent two years there before moving to the Daily Telegraph in London. She returned to Australia in 1999, and has been a staff journalist at Good Weekend Magazine, with the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers, ever since. She has won both a Walkley award for Australian journalism, and a British Press Award. She lives in Sydney with her partner Dom, who has never read a single Jane Austen novel. Finding Mr Darcy is her first book.
Finding Mr Darcy
MacMillan Publishers
Author: Amanda Hooton
ISBN: 9781742611846
Price: $24.99
Question: How did the idea for Finding Mr Darcy come about?
Amanda Hooton: I'm afraid to say I had nothing to do with the idea at all! My publisher, Ingrid Ohlsson, asked me if I'd be interested in doing it. As a reader, I've always loved Jane Austen, but apart from wishing that my love life (in fact my whole life, really) was a lot more like a Jane Austen novel, I'd never thought about her as a romantic guide. But it's surprising how much advice she gives, and how applicable her ideas are to a modern setting. How to meet men; ways to spot a bastard; what to do when you fall in love and it all goes horribly wrong: this stuff (alas) is eternal.
Question: Did you find yourself laughing hysterically when writing the book?
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