Simply Divine by Wendy Holden

From the Publisher

A national bestseller in England, this delightful new novel has been called "Frothy, frivolous, and fun." (Harpers & Queen)

Jane, a struggling, twenty-something writer for a glossy women's magazine, has inadvertently just landed her worst nightmare of an assignment. Not only does she have a less-than-satisfying relationship with her boring and cantankerous boyfriend, who has a host of other insecurities, but now her eccentric magazine editor has made her the personal ghostwriter for the town's latest bedazzling, blonde, and busty socialite: Champagne D'Vyne. While Jane reels from the annoying and distasteful business of investigating, and then glamorizing, the vacuous details of Champagne's life, her new assignment suddenly becomes intertwined with her personal life in surprising ways. Will her own romantic prospects broaden? Will she be able to help save her best friend's dilapidated country manor with a matchmaking scheme? At once whimsical and satirical, Simply Divine is already a smash hit in England, and will undoubtedly be a crowd-pleaser for American readers.

Publishers Weekly

Witty puns, glittery silliness and a down-to-earth heroine provide both style and substance in British journalist Holden's clever debut, a rollicking sendup of London's glam-mag industry. By day, plain Jane Bentley, 24, is a writer for a fashion glossy; by night, she's the sexually unfulfilled live-in love of Nick, a boring and boorish political climber. But things could be worse, as Jane soon finds out when her boss gives her a nightmare assignment: to ghostwrite a column ostensibly penned by Champagne D'Vyne, an impossibly annoying celebrity socialite. The scantily clad blonde Champagne is totally over-the-top: too dumb to notice her own malapropisms, puns and blunders, too rich and glamorous to care. As Jane grumpily endeavors to spin the minutiae of Champagne's shallow existence--her spoiled dog "Gucci," her sexual exploits, her racy designer ensembles--into a popular column, she must also contend with her own problems, including new romantic prospects. Another distraction is her best friend, Tally, who is on a mission to save her family's crumbling country estate from being bulldozed. Holden, a former deputy editor of Tatler, has the inside scoop on the lifestyle she lampoons so well, and though her humorous depiction of Champagne's insane excesses grows tired, her emphasis on Jane's career is refreshing. Already a bestseller in England, this contemporary exploration of "having it all" should be popular here as well. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

Written by a former editor of Britain's Tatler, this pun-filled bebut novel is a cross between Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary (and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, reviewed above) and Mary Sheepshans's A Price for Everything (St. Martin's, 1996). Like Fielding's Bridget, Holden's Jane is a small time journalist, working for the likes of Gorgeous (and then Fabulous) and getting involved with a string of self-absorbed men. Her career takes off, however, when she starts ghost-writing a column for socialite Champagne D'Vyne. Unfortunately, the gorgeous, self-centered Champagne casts a pall on her professional success. She even seems to have her claws in the one decent man Jane meets. As in Sheepshanks's first novel, there is a family castle (Mullion, which belongs to Jane's best friend, Tally) that is literally falling to pieces, which jane schemes to save. While Holden's novel is as clever as Bridget (and like it, a U.K. best seller), it is a cut above intellectually, though the puns may wear thin and the British allusions may draw blanks. Frothy (and ultimate forgettable, like Bridget, too), this is nevertheless great fun for Anglophiles and Bridget fans. Highly recommended for popular fiction collections.-Francine Fialkoff, "Library Journal"

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