Bridget would be exactly the same, minus the ciggies
| Published date | 23 January 2021 |
| Publication title | Daily Record, The / Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland) |
Fans of, and newcomers to, the 30-something chardonnay-swilling singleton can shortly bag a 25th anniversary edition of her famous Diary, with added extracts from author Helen Fielding's early journalism and musings about Bridget in the 21st century.
Millions of copies of the original, based on Jane Austen's novel Pride And Prejudice and evolved from Fielding's columns in The Independent have sold globally, spawning three further books and three film adaptations starring Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth.
In the new book, Fielding explains: "Sometimes people claim that Bridget was the godmother of chick lit. But the truth is it wasn't just Bridget or me, it was zeitgeist. The fictional representation of single women had not caught up with reality." So, do other authors feel that Jones is still relevant 25 years on?
'Daniel Cleavers are still in great abundance'
Author and broadcaster Mariella Frostrup reckons Bridget Jones's Diary is as relevant today as it was 25 years ago.
"It was a revolutionary text when it first came out. For anyone who was a young woman in the 90s, it's like having a book equivalent of the soundtrack to your life, summing up the singleton lifestyle so many of us were living," said Frostrup, author of Desire: 100 of Literature's Sexiest Stories. "There's nothing in this book that isn't relevant today.
"Much as we talk the talk, I don't think the world has changed dramatically on the romantic front, or in terms of people aspiring to find the right partner.
And I think Daniel Cleavers are in great abundance. I don't really see what would be out of date in the book, apart from the smoking.
"It's such a relief to read about someone real rather than a prototype of what we think humanity should be. If every single book about a woman was some prototype feminist saying all the right things and behaving in an absolutely admirable and militantly feminist way, it would be a dreary world.
"It's very good for us to be familiar with human foibles rather than constantly seek perfection. Bridget Jones's Diary is totally timeless. It's about all of the things human beings will always aspire to: a connection with others, to find someone to love you, to find someone you can love back and to be the best person you can possibly be while at the same time recognising that we are all deeply flawed."
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