Bridget Jones’s Diary

Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding

It is New Year’s Day, and Bridget Jones, a thirty-something single woman living in London and working in publishing, has made her resolutions. She will drink less, smoke less, lose weight, stop obsessing over men who are wrong for her, and find a sensible boyfriend. Over the next year, she records her progress, and her many setbacks, in her diary.

Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding, is a hilarious and affectionate portrait of modern single life. Each entry begins with Bridget’s own running tally of her weight, alcohol units, cigarettes and calories, followed by her candid account of the day’s triumphs and disasters. She endures family gatherings where relatives ask why she is still unmarried, navigates the dramas of her mother’s midlife adventures, and relies on her loyal friends Jude, Shazzer and Tom for advice and wine-fueled support.

Bridget’s love life is particularly eventful. She begins a flirtation with her charming but unreliable boss, Daniel Cleaver, while repeatedly running into Mark Darcy, a stiff and seemingly arrogant lawyer whom she first meets at a family party wearing an unfortunate holiday sweater. Fans of Jane Austen will notice that the story playfully echoes Pride and Prejudice.

Originally a newspaper column, the novel became an international bestseller and a hugely popular film starring Renée Zellweger, and it helped define the genre of contemporary women’s comedic fiction.

Funny, honest and warm, Bridget Jones’s Diary remains a delightful read. Its humor about dieting and appearance reflects its era, and it contains adult language and situations.