Author
Bridie Clark
Publication Date
December 16, 2009
ISBN
978-1-60286-082-7
Format
Hardcover
Category
Fiction
The Overnight Socialite

Lucy Ellis moved to the Big Apple to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a fashion designer, but the native Midwesterner has just about had it with the city. A mousy, self-conscious girl trapped in a job at a designer sweatshop, Lucy has been mistreated, road-blocked, and otherwise insulted since her arrival. Overwhelmed by city life, Lucy is about to pack it all in and return home to Minnesota. Then she meets Wyatt.

After being publicly dissed by the glamour girl he'd been dating, man-about-town (and bored Ph.D. anthropologist) Wyatt Hayes wants to prove he's still at the top of his game and boasts to his best friend that he can transform any girl - even wallflower Lucy Ellis - into this year's "It" girl. If he can fool the upper crust of New York society into thinking an imposter like Lucy is the real thing, he can rip the chiffon veil off the whole Park Avenue social scene.

Lucy's an unlikely candidate to become a red-carpet butterfly, but she considers it her last resort and jumps at the opportunity to "become somebody" in New York. Wyatt begins to rigorously train Lucy in the style, sounds, and sensibilities of socialites born with entire sets of silver spoons in their mouths. Three months of preparation culminate in Lucy's appearance at the ultra-exclusive Fashion Forum Gala, where Lucy and Wyatt finally confront New York's aristocracy - and their feelings for each other.

Set against the glittering backdrop of contemporary Manhattan, The Overnight Socialite puts a 21st-century sheen on a timeless story of transformation and unlikely love.


Clark's debut Because She Can did for publishing what The Devil Wears Prada did for fashion. She scores again with this retelling of the Pygmalion story, which features crisp, funny prose and endearing characters. A fun read for fans of well-written chick lit.”

Clark moves the Pygmalion myth to Manhattan...and the rollicking, smart-aleck fun along the way is worth the price of admission.”
Graydon Carter

Quite enchanting....It's Pygmalion in Lilly Pulitzer.”
William Norwich
Vogue

If Edith Wharton reincarnated in a Marc Jacobs dress with the humor of a Park Avenue Nancy Mitford, that would be Bridie Clark. Hats off to The Overnight Socialite, a distinguished froth of rich social satire and romance.”
Jules Asner
author of Whacked

Bridie Clark made me laugh out loud from the first chapter in this sharp and pitch perfect modern fairy tale.”