Charlotte 101: UK print launch day

International paperback and hardback copies of Charlotte.

Today marked that strange moment when Charlotte became a physical reality: for sale in bookshops around the world (UK, SA, Australia and Ireland, for starters — elsewhere you might still have to hunt around online). It hasn’t really sunk in because (a) lockdown means I am still almost entirely isolated; and (b) for infrastructural reasons too tedious to relate, my SA distributors are struggling to get it into local shops.

But it’s popping up like weeds all around: here’s the author Joanne Fedler, herself a wonderful writer of warm feminist fiction, holding up her copy in Sydney, Australia:

Pic used with permission: thank you, Joanne — the FIRST person in the whole world to send a selfie with the book.

Here’s the copy of a former colleague, Mara Singer, over in Oxford:

Pic used with permission: thank you, Meowra.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was showing up in British bookshops: the delightful Rosie Fiore, herself a seasoned author, took this shot in Waterstones in Hampstead:

Today someone pointed out is that what’s needed is one post that tells would-be readers where and how to buy Charlotte.

In the UK, for the print book, go into any Waterstones or good indie bookstore. You can also order copies online via that site named for the jungle lungs of the planet, or your favourite online book or shopping site. Great news for all those feeling the financial pinch is that for the whole of September, you can get the Kindle e-book for the grand sum of 99p, or listen to it on Audible for free, with your trial.

In South Africa, as of next week (I am promised), you can buy a real, physical book from any branch of Exclusive Books or good indie. VERY NB: if you are told, as a friend was today, that EB is only “getting copies in for Christmas”, this is FAKE NEWS. It’s an EB book of the month for October, and EB is hosting the virtual launch this coming Thursday (a good moment to register to attend). So it will be in their shops by then. If any of their staff deny this, ask them to check online. NOT their sales computer: Google it yourself and show them.

You can also order it online via your favourite shopping site: Loot is still showing a nice discount. The “out of stock” notices are LIES: the books are here, just taking a while to trickle out to distribution sites. Go ahead and order, or put it on your wish-list.

For South Africans, if you would like a signed print copy, contact the ever-reliable indie Book Lounge, and once they have several requests, I will go in and sign (also write you a note of great gratitude if you so wish).

Lauren Beukes’ dystopian novel about pandemics and parenting, Afterland, also launched in the UK today, which means a book I wrote AND one I edited hatched on the same day. So it’s been breathtaking and momentous, and I would like to thank everyone who has cheered me along, my lovely publishing team at Bonnier Zaffre, and the members of the Third Of Septembers, a Twitter group of debut novelists — you’ve been a rich source of encouragement and ideas, not to mention new friendships. May all our books fly!

Here’s one more pic: an old high-school pal, Helen Thomas Martin, finds a copy in Waterstones in Sussex:

Helen was the first to send a pic from the UK. Mercy buckets!

Here’s the blurb again:

This sparkling tale of marriage and friendship picks up Charlotte Lucas's story where Pride and Prejudice ends. Nobody believes that Charlotte has any prospects. She is unmarried, plain, poor and reaching a dangerous age. But when she stuns the neighbourhood by accepting the proposal of buffoonish clergyman Mr Collins, her fortunes change. Her best friend Lizzy Bennet is appalled by her choice, yet Charlotte knows this is the only way to provide for her future. What she doesn't know is that married life will propel her into a new world: not only of duty and longed-for children, but secrets, grief, unexpected love and friendship, and a kind of freedom.

“This debut takes a supporting character from Pride and Prejudice and makes her a satisfying heroine . . . An enjoyable, even racy addition to the drawing-room industry of novels riffing off Austen.” The Sunday Times (UK)