A printing mix up led to early copies of the latest Bridget Jones book – Mad About the Boy – having a chunk of David Jason’s memoirs in the middle.
About 40 pages of Sir David Jason’s My Life were printed in Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, both of which came out on the same day.
“The printers have had a Bridget moment,” said publishers Vintage.
It said it was recalling the misprinted copies and replacing them with correct versions.
“A printing error has been detected in some of the very early copies of Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy,” said a Vintage spokesman.
A printing mix up led to early copies of the latest Bridget Jones book, Mad About the Boy, having a chunk of David Jason’s memoirs in the middle
“Copies printed on one day have given readers an accidental preview of David Jason’s autobiography.”
Both Helen Fielding and David Jason’s book were published on what the publishing world has dubbed “Super Thursday”, when publishing houses put out some of their highest-priority titles for the Christmas market.
Among other books released are Jennifer Saunders’ autobiography Bonkers, My Life in Laughs; Mo Farah’s Twin Ambitions and John Bishop’s How Did All This Happen?.
Mad About the Boy signals the final chapter of hapless “singleton” Bridget Jones’s diaries.
Fans may already know one of the significant plotlines after extracts were earlier published in the Sunday Times Magazine.
Although Helen Fielding herself approved the reveal, some fans were shocked to be told of such a major twist before the book had even been published.
Bridget Jones fans have expressed their horror at the news that author Helen Fielding has killed off Mark Darcy in new book Mad About The Boy.
In extracts from her new book, published in the Sunday Times magazine, Bridget Jones reveals that Mark Darcy – her husband and father to her two children, died five years earlier.
Mark Darcy was played by Colin Firth in the Bridget Jones movies.
Bridget Jones fans have expressed their horror at the news that author Helen Fielding has killed off Mark Darcy in new book Mad About The Boy
Helen Fielding is due to speak at next month’s Cheltenham Literature Festival.
In the published extracts, Bridget Jones is revealed to have two children Mabel and Billy and a 30-year-old toyboy called Roxster.
Helen Fielding’s first book Bridget Jones’s Diary was published in 1996 and a sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason was released three years later.
Written in the form of a personal diary, the novels chronicle the life of a 30-something single working woman living in London.
In 2001, a film adaptation starring American actress Renee Zellweger, with Hugh Grant as womanizing Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth as Darcy, was released.
Renee Zellweger was Oscar-nominated for the role and, in 2004, the sequel was released, although it was not as critically well received.
Mad About The Boy is due for release on October 10.
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Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, Helen Fielding’s first novel in 14 years, is to be published later this year.
The novel is Helen Fielding’s third about the hapless singleton, following Bridget Jones’s Diary, which was published in 1996, and sequel The Edge Of Reason in 1999.
The books sold more than 15 million copies in 40 countries and were adapted for the movies starring Renee Zellweger in the lead role, Colin Firth as Mark Darcy and Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver.
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, which will be published on October 10, is set in present day London and ‘represents a totally new phase in Bridget’s life’.
An extract released by publishers showed that Bridget Jones is still prone to mishaps.
She writes after sending a text message: “You see, this is the trouble with the modern world. If it was the days of letter-writing, I would never even have started to find his address, a pen, a piece of paper, an envelope, a stamp and gone outside at 11.30 p.m. to find a postbox.
“A text is gone at the brush of a fingertip, like a nuclear bomb or Exocet missile. Dating Rule No 1: Do not text when drunk.”
Bridget Jones Mad About The Boy, Helen Fielding’s first novel in 14 years, is to be published later this year
A statement from publishers Jonathan Cape said: “Bridget is older, she is still keeping a diary, but she is also immersed in texting and experimenting with social media, with an emphasis on <<social!>>.”
Jonathan Cape publishing director Dan Franklin said: “As a comic writer, Helen is without equal. Over 15 years ago she gave a voice to a generation of young women with the original Bridget book.
“Now they’ve grown up and she’s doing it again….this time with all the joys and complications of social media.”
Bridget Jones, who filled the pages of her diary with her failed efforts to find love and measured her life in the amount of cigarettes she smoked, units of alcohol she drank and number of calories she lost or gained, started life as a weekly column in The Independent in 1995.
Best-selling English author Helen Fielding recently wrote that the dating scene had become even more difficult for women thanks to the advent of email, Twitter, Facebook and texting.
Writing in the margins of her novel Bridget Jones’ Diary for a charity book sale, she said that she thought that finding a partner is “so much worse now”.
Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth recently dashed hopes that a third Bridget Jones film would be hitting the big-screen soon.
“Unfortunately, it might be a bit of a long wait. I wouldn’t say that it’s completely dead in the water, but the way it’s going you might be seeing Bridget Jones’ granddaughter’s story being told by the time we get there,” he quipped.
Author Helen Fielding has begun work on a third Bridget Jones novel, 13 years after its predecessor.
With a new film and a musical based on the singleton in the pipeline, Helen Fielding turned to the world of texting and Twitter to help her write a new “scenario for Bridget”.
“I’m having a lot of fun, and it’s very funny and it’s making me laugh,” she said.
Bridget Jones was born out of a weekly column in The Independent in 1995.
The first two books, Bridget Jones’ Diary and The Edge of Reason, sold more than 15 million copies and inspired two films, with Renee Zellweger in the starring role.
After living in Los Angeles for much of the past decade, Helen Fielding returned to London two years ago with her two children – and it was then that she rediscovered the voice of Bridget.
“After the unexpected success when it first came out, I was startled by the whole thing,” she said.
“When I first wrote it I didn’t think anyone would read it. It was just a column in the Independent, so it was very easy to write and be very honest – and then I got all self-conscious because I knew so many people would read it.”
Author Helen Fielding has begun work on a third Bridget Jones novel, 13 years after its predecessor
However, in spring of 2011, Helen Fielding hit upon a way forward.
“I had new stuff I wanted to say and things that were making me laugh,” explained Helen Fielding.
“Things that didn’t exist when I wrote the last Bridget, like emails really, and texting, the way life is lived through texting and Twitter, and a whole new idea for a phase of her life.”
“It’s more like <<number of Twitter followers: 0. Still no followers. Still no followers>>. But she has grown up,” explained Helen Fielding, who revealed the book will be set in present day London.
“My life has moved on and hers will move on too,” she said.
“She’s still trying to give up [drinking and smoking], she’s still on a diet.
“She’s trying a bit harder, and is a bit more successful, but she’s never really going to change.”
Admitting she is scared by the idea of bringing out a new book, Helen Fielding claims she is still getting great enjoyment from writing it: “If people laugh as much reading it as I am while writing it, then we’ll all be very happy.”
The second film adaptation, The Edge of Reason, was released in cinemas eight years ago, with a further film sequel Bridget Jones’ Baby due for release in early 2013.
Colin Firth and Hugh Grant are set to return as Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver.
Helen Fielding said it has taken a long time to get the film right, describing it as “a different, earlier story, not based on a novel – it started with some columns I wrote in the Independent about six years ago.
“I think with a third installment [of the film] the stakes are very high. We all go back a long way, we’re all really fond of each other and everyone really wants to get it right, but that means there are a lot of voices, a lot of writers.
“Getting Bridget right, I always think it’s like a little duck – in the end it needs to skim effortlessly along the surface, but underneath the legs are going really, really fast.”
The third film has been delayed over script issues – and the musical is still very much a work in progress, according to Helen Fielding.
“It’s been huge fun and will take ages because musicals do. It’s herding butterflies, people move off and then come back together again but I think it’s going to be fantastic when it does happen.”
